


When One Door Closes

by yaoigirl22



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bearer Jimmy, Bearer McGee, Bearer Ron Sacks, Bearers, Forced Marriage, Fornell just wants a burgur, Gibbs isn't sure if he got a husband or a wife, Kind of sortof Ducky/Jimmy, M/M, Mpreg, Slow Burn, but he'll make it work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 21:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 28,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4365608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaoigirl22/pseuds/yaoigirl22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to virus, a law created by the governments of the world, and a mutant gene. Every man and woman across the world are forced to marry. </p>
<p>Gibbs is next on the list.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks goes to my Beta MaddieStJ over at FF.Net.

 

Agent Andrew Woods did not like his job, sure it was high paying and the benefits were great, but the job description was little to be desired.

“Mr. Woods” Cindy the NCIS Director’s secretary said, “the Director will see you now”

Andrew sighed but nodded, before picking up his black brief case and going through the opened door.

“Welcome Agent Woods” Leon said, “please, have a seat”

Andrew sat down in the seat in front of the Director’s desk, and once Leon sat down Andrew opened his briefcase and pulled out a yellow folder.

“These are the employees that our Agency found”

Leon took the folder and went through them, there was six in total, and he inwardly groaned when he saw two in particular.

“The Agency has given you a week to tell your employees, then I will return with candidates profiles for them to choose from”

“Just a week?” Leon questioned.

“I know, but the Agency have found that NCIS Washington DC has the highest percentage of unmarried employees than any other state, and they want that percentage down”

Leon decided it was just best to nod, after all six was truly a high number.

Note the sarcasm.

He was also sure that one **_particular_** Agent was one of the causes for the sudden rush.

“Also, I hate to have to tell you this, but if none of the chosen are willing to cooperate, they will be fired or worse”

“I am aware” Leon said, grinding down hard on his toothpick.

Andrew gave a small almost sad smile before letting himself out, once the man left Leon leaned back against his chair with a tired gaze, this was something he tried to avoid even though he knew it was inevitable.

 ** _This_** was inevitable.

Still he felt that he had some hope or at least some time.

 _“So much for that”_ he thought.

**_~.~_ **

__

“Good morning Jethro”

“Hey Duck”

Leroy Jethro Gibbs leaned against the wall next to his friend Donald Millard a.k.a Ducky or Duck, he then scanned the waiting area, there were four more NCIS employees sitting or leaning against the wall waiting as well.

Two, he recognized as Field Agents from another Team, the other he knew was from the Legal Department, the last person he wasn’t so sure of, but had a feeling it was one of their Geeks.

“Any ideas as to why the Director has called us?” Ducky asked.

Gibbs shrugged, when he had gotten the call that the Director wanted to see him, he had taken his time, mostly because he knew it would piss Leon off; and mostly because he hadn’t had his morning coffee. Once he had that, and slapped Tony upside the head for a comment, he headed up, and was surprised to see the large group waiting. It was probably one of the reasons why he didn’t just burst into the office as usual.

“The Director will see you all now” Cindy said, coming out of the man’s office and holding the door open for them.

 Each exchanged curious glances before one by one they filed in.

“Please have a seat” Leon said indicating to the large table inside the room, it was used for such purposes as this.

“What’s this about Leon?” Gibbs asked when the man started to pace the room.

Leon glanced at him, before sighing and sitting down in one of the vacant chairs.

“I got a visit from the Agency”

Everybody suddenly sat straight up and tensed.

The Agency was well known….and well disliked.

“You six are the only ones in NCIS that are single or currently past the none dating timeline”

Leon held his hand up, silencing the protests which he knew was coming.

“You all know I’ve tried to stall as long as I could, but considering  how many requests have been denied” here he gave a look at Gibbs, who met it with a raised brow. “I’m not surprised, I’ve been given a week to inform and convince you all to agree, and a week later the Agent will return with candidates’ profiles, you are to pick one. If you refuse to cooperate, you will fired or jailed for treason”

“All because we refuse to be breed like dogs!” the Agent Mikey exclaimed.

“And what would you like me to do Agent Williams? Storm the White House and hold the President hostage until he changes the law?”

“Sounds like a plan to me” Gibbs said.

Leon glared at him, before shaking his head, “You all have one week to get your thoughts together, and pick a candidate” he then said before dismissing them. No one moved.

“So that’s it?!” the other Agent Lily asked.

Leon said nothing else.

“Well this sucks” Lupin, the one from Legal sighed as he stood, the Geek, Mike said nothing.

“I must say, this very unnerving news for me, mother will quite happy though” Ducky said, earning an amused glance from Gibbs, and a twitch of the lips from Leon.

Leon then watched them go, letting out a breath of relief when the door closed.

 _“That had gone_ **way** _better than I expected”_ he thought.

The US…no, the World Government was unpopular with the people at the moment. 

It was years ago, no one was sure, though there have been many theories; the most popular one was nuclear testing gone bad. A virus had swept through the globe, at first; many thought it to be the flu, but when people started dying not only in America, but all parts of the World from the same flu-like symptoms. The World Leaders knew they had a problem, a problem that couldn’t be fixed for five years.

Five years later, a group of the World’s most renown scientists came together and were able to locate and kill the Virus, but at a cost.

Humanities’ population had suffered greatly.

The World Leaders then came together and sought a way to save their species, the solution, controlled Birthing. Every single woman was given a physical examination and those with best results were paired with a man, who also went through examination, and were expected to have a child by the first year, by the following year a second child would be born. It was during that time that something else was discovered.

A selected amount of men had a mutant gene in them that allowed them to conceive a child, the opportunity was pounced on, and soon a world law was formed that stated that every man and woman must have a least one child in every house.

Of course it was promised that it was only temporary.

That was years ago, the law was still active, with some adjustments, but still unpopular with the people.

“DiNozzo said it best _the only time the World Leaders agree on anything is when they’re fucking up their own people”_


	2. Chapter 2

“I can’t believe you and Ducky are getting mail-ordered brides”

“Tony!”

“What?”

Tony blinked innocently at his two teammates who glared at him.

“Can you be anymore sexist?”

Tony thought about it, “Nope” he then said with a grin.

Kate just sighed, while Ziva shook her head.

“Oh come on, you guys are telling me you wouldn’t do this, it’s the chance to find the perfect guy…or my case woman”

“Yes, but I then would always spend my time wondering if they’re happy or not”

“Yeah, those people are **_trained_** to be happy Tony” Kate added.

“Details, details” Tony waved his hand dismissively before turning his attention to his Boss.

“So Boss, who’d you pick? Let me guess, she’s a red-head”

“Wouldn’t know DiNozzo”

All three Agents blinked at the man who was going through files and reports.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Tony asked

“I mean I didn’t pay that much attention, now back to work”

“But—”

“Now Ziva”

Quickly the three Agents went back to their reports, though they kept glancing at their boss every now and then. Gibbs merely ignored them, and the nagging voice in the back of his head that told him what an idiot he was for losing his temper.

Barely four days ago, was he sent an e-mail that stated that he and his entire team were on desk duty until further notice. The damn thing wasn’t even signed but the Agent knew well who it was from.

The man had placed his team, **_his_** team, on desk duty. All because he was refusing to cooperate with a government who didn’t have the balls to own up to their own mistakes, _fine then_ he had thought at that time, as he grabbed one of the papers with a potential candidate on it. He didn’t even look at it as he stuffed it in a folder, made his way to the Director’s office, burst through the door and slammed it on the man’s desk.

 _“Here!”_  He had said, before the other could say a word, _“now put my team back in the field!”_

Leon, wisely, just nodded and watched the man go.

Now in the present time, Gibbs was trying to beat down the worry that was growing over the fact, that in a short time he was going to be married……again.

**_~.~_ **

Tony finally stopped glancing at his Boss and turned his eyes to his report, in all honesty while he may talk like this was the greatest thing since sliced bread; the Senior Agent felt that this whole law thing was just wrong. To force someone, complete strangers to marry each other in the name of humanity didn’t make a lick of sense.

To him, there were enough people in the world, and considering he had to hunt half of them down, Tony was proud to say he was an expert. He also knew that it was going to be his turn soon.

After all, forty-five was right around the corner.

Though he was more worried for Kate and Ziva, and knew that the only reason why Agents weren’t beating down the two women’s door was because a) Ziva’s daddy was a man in high places and b) both were in serious relationships. Or at least that’s the only reason’s he could see for the two not to be harassed. Woman, sad to say, had it much harder from the government then the men.

“DiNozzo, you’re not working”

“Working now Boss, quick question though, are we invited to the wedding?”

“DiNozzo!”

“Being quiet now Boss”

**_~.~_ **

Agents Woods was surprised when he got all six of the folders back with picked candidates from NCIS, surprised but pleased; he didn’t want to have to make the Call. Once in his car, he looked through them, and raised a brow at the two of the choices.

 _“Interesting”_ he thought.

He stared at them for few more seconds before dismissing it, he only carried out the orders, he knew nothing about the Agency operated beyond the basics. Putting them back into his case and headed out towards the Ark.

The Ark was where all the potential candidates were housed; to the outsider it looked like a regular college, but inside it was an entirely different matter.

“Afternoon Agent Woods” greeted the guard as he let the other in.

“Afternoon Charles” Woods greeted, before driving through and parking his car.

He made his way inside, greeting those who passed by as he made his way to the elevator, and to the second floor. The metal doors dinged open when it reached its destination and Woods stepped off, he went to the door on the left and knocked.

“Enter” came the voice on the other end.

“Hey Chief, got the last of the files” Woods said as he entered and handed the case to his Boss.

“Good work, any problems?”

“None”

“That’s what I like to hear; Oh! Before I forget, Mary’s looking for you”

Woods nodded with a smile and went to look for the woman, his job done.

**_~.~_ **

About two weeks later Gibbs received a letter stating the date, time, and place that his marriage was going to take place.

Apparently the Courthouse was an appropriate place for a wedding in the eyes of the US government, go figure.

Also note the sarcasm.

Another two weeks, around nine am, found Gibbs being ushered into a long stretched limo by two bulky black suited men. They said, as stated in letter, he received two weeks ago; that they were here to escort him to the Courthouse.

“You mean to make sure I don’t suddenly end up in Vegas” Gibbs said as he entered car, the guards said nothing as they closed the door and climbed into the limo themselves.

The case of Jonathon Mansion was common knowledge in the Law Enforcement place, and was often talked about.

The Courthouse was packed, with lines that seem to go on for miles, lucky for him and possibly everyone else; Gibbs was escorted to a private office, where a priest and some official looking person were waiting.

“Ah, right on time” said the woman, she gave Gibbs a smile before turning to one of the escorts in.

“Bring him in” she said.

The man nodded and disappeared into a side door.

The woman smiled again at Gibbs, who mere stared back, after moments of no other reaction, the woman’s smile fell and she nervously cleared her throat. Finally the door opened, and the escort walked in, behind him was the candidate Gibbs had chosen. The Agent’s brows shot to his hairline when he took saw both the gender, and how young the other looked.

“Agent Gibbs, I would like to introduce you to your new spouse, Timothy McGee” the woman introduced.   

Timothy shifted nervously under the intense stare, eyes not meeting the Agent’s, or anyone’s for that matter.

“Now then, shall we begin?”

The marriage wasn’t anything to write home about, in fact, all they did was sign the marriage license and exchanged rings, the woman congratulated them, and sent them on their way. When they pulled up to the Agent’s house, the door was opened and the newlyweds stepped out, Gibbs blinked when he was handed a white envelope.

“Dowry” the escort said, while the other escort retrieved two traveling bags from out the trunk, and placed them on the porch right next to Timothy.

“Have a pleasant evening” the Escort said, and then both of them were back in the limo and pulling out the driveway.

Gibbs watched vehicle leave before sighing and going inside, Timothy hesitated for a moment, before following; picking up his things along the way. Once inside the house, Timothy watched his new husband pace.

“Um...” he began trailing off, and lowering his head when intense blue eyes turned his way.

**_~.~_ **

Gibbs paused in his pacing to look at the other man….at least he hoped it was a man, McGee looked so young, and he tempted to burp the other.

The Agent studied his new….wife?.... husband?...wife?.... the young man was tall, with short brown hair, he was a little on the heavy side, but from what he could remember from that class he and his team was forced to take. Bearers, as the men who could carry children were called, had a little bit more body fat than men who couldn’t.

He also noted that the other had his head bowed, and now that he thought about, Timothy never once lifted his head at the Courtroom or when Gibbs looked in his general direction.

“Something wrong with your head McGee?”  He hadn’t meant to sound harsh, or use the other’s….Maiden... name, but the damage was done. The young man flinched slightly but shook his head.

“Then lift it up and look at me”

There was some hesitation, then the head finally lifted, and Gibbs found himself looking in big green eyes.

“Better” Gibbs said, “the guest room is upstairs to your left, the shower is down the hall to your right”

Timothy nodded, and watched silently as his Spouse went down to the basement.

 _“That could have gone better”_ he thought, before heading upstairs with his things.

**_~.~_ **

After hours of sawing and sanding, Gibbs finally opened the white envelope that he had tossed on one of the table; he skimmed over the letter that congratulated him on his marriage, blah, blah, blah. When he saw the check, he blinked four times before he was sure that what he saw was really there.

 _“Hell, with this, I can retire early along with Kate, Abby, Ducky, Tony and Ziva four times”_ he thought shocked.

Shaking his head he headed back up, taking note that it was nearly eight, he had missed lunch and dinner, a fact that his stomach was now making known.  When he entered that kitchen, he stopped when he noticed a plate of food on the counter; he looked around expecting McGee to pop out somewhere. When he didn’t, he warmed up the food and ate.

Once done, Gibbs thought it was the best meal he ever had.


	3. Chapter 3

It was only when he was in the car heading to work that it finally hit Gibbs.

He was married….again! And to a man this time! A **_man_**. It was like bad mantra that reminded him of a throbbing hangover. Married to a complete stranger, and whose fault was that, that he didn’t read the information in the file? He sighed loudly in the car. If this had been a case, he would never have been so careless.

At least with his last three wives he knew **_something_** about them besides their name and gender.

Cue throbbing headache again.

Steely blue eyes looked at the finger that had been bare for so many years.  His finger suddenly felt heavier. His life felt heavier.

More thoughts assaulted him while waiting for the elevator _._

_“And of course, I was strictly an ass. He’s probably nice, yeah, right, a nice KID! How old is he?”_ The elevator arrived and he stepped in and pressed the button to his floor. _“Can he really get pregnant? Of course he can, he wouldn’t be in the group if he couldn’t.”_

_“Question is: Do I want to be a father again?”_ He sighed again. _“Hell, I’m a Marine. I can do this.”_ The elevator arrived at its destination, and he groaned, _“I’m in way over my head. Serves me right for being irresponsible.”_

The doors opened.

“Honeymoon over?” was the first thing he heard when he breezed into the bullpen.

Gibbs blinked, at first surprised that Tony was actually here before him, but recovered and stared at Tony, until the Agent’s grin faltered. He then made his way over to his desk, and focused on his work, instead of the stranger in his house. It was another hour before he realized he hadn’t had any coffee yet due to all the distracting thoughts running through his head. He got up to rectify that issue.

**_~.~_ **

Tim sighed as he cleaned the plate, glass, and silverware and placed them in the drainer, instead of the dishwasher. Once done with that, he decided to explore the house since there wasn’t anything else to be done as his husband hadn’t given him any instructions before he left for work, he stood before the sink and looked out into the backyard.

His new husband seems...well not violent, but Tim had a feeling the man had a bit of a temper, and that worried him a little, after all; he had heard stories around the Ark, and from his friend. His new husband had also seem surprised, like he didn’t know that he got a man for a wife.

Tim moved away from the sink and made his way to the living room, he took in the old décor and even older television, he then headed upstairs taking note of the other door that he was sure lead to the basement. When he got upstairs the first door he opened reveled what can only be described as a little girl’s room, it even had horses on the walls and sheets.

This disturbed him somewhat, was he married to a man who only saw him as breeding?

Tim bit his bottom lip in worry before moving on, he found the master bedroom, it was clean, military neat even. He closed the door, bypassing his room and the bathroom and headed back downstairs to the door he saw earlier.

He opened it, descended down the stairs, and his eyes widen at what he saw.

It was a nearly finished boat and even though it wasn’t done Tim thought it was the most beautiful thing he ever seen.

**_~.~_ **

Gibbs came home around midnight drained both physically and emotionally, he briefly wondered where his new….housemate, was and probably figured him to be asleep. He headed to the kitchen, intent on getting coffee to take down with him to the basement, when he found a plate of food covered and with a note.

_“Heat for two minutes and forty minutes”_

Gibbs blinked once again, surprised that the kid (Tim! His name is Tim) was able to find food to fix, and made a mental note to leave money for groceries before leaving tomorrow for work.

After dinner (which was amazingly good for just mashed potatoes, and drumlins) the ex-marine went upstairs to check on the younger man. The door was ajar, quietly Gibbs let himself in, he glanced around and saw that the closet was bare expect for the suitcases on the floor that he was sure was empty. He then looked at the bed.

Tim was curled up in a ball, cuddling with his pillow, lips parted with content sighs coming out. Gibbs couldn’t help but notice how soft and pouty the lips looked.

Tim moaned and rolled over and Gibbs left.

The next morning Tim found some money on the kitchen counter with a note the said.

_“For Food”_

Tim looked from the note and to the front door, he felt a rush of mixed excitement and fear. The rumors around the Ark, were that when you got married you wouldn’t leave the house, that your new spouse would keep you under lock and keep. Sure, there were some stories where many found happy homes but those were outnumbered by the others.

_“Where would I even get the food?”_ he thought, he knew about grocery stores, but he didn’t know where one was, he supposes he could ask a neighbor.

After dressing, Tim stood in front of the door hesitating, before taking a deep calm breathe, reaching out and turning the knob.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything was so….big, and loud. It was totally different from the pictures and from what he could see from his bedroom window at the Ark, he was just happy that the store wasn’t far or hard to find, though he did get distracted by all the cars that flew by, as well as the people.

He knew better than to believe some of the rumors that were around the Ark, he did, but it didn’t stop him from looking for fangs.

When he got to the store he was startled by the doors parting for him, and he cautiously took a step in, once inside he stopped and stared with awe.

“Hey move it!”

Tim jumped and looked over at the man that bumped into him, he watched as the man went and took a buggy, Tim followed his example, and went down one of the rows. It took him a while but Tim was able to get over his awe of the store and concentrated on the list he made before leaving the house.

One of the things the Ark had taught him and the others, was not only how to cook but what kinds of food were best for his family to keep them healthy while keeping within a modest budget.

After gathering everything he headed to the check-out lines, he paused when he saw the express check, the regular check-out, and the self-check-out.

Which one should he pick?

“Can I help you sir?”

Tim jumped and whirled around, there was a young woman dressed in black pants and a red collared shirt, on it was a tag that read Meg.

I-I-I’m s-s-s-sorry?” Tim stuttered.

“I was wondering if you needed any help?” Meg asked, giving an apologetic smile for startling him, “you seem…lost, are you from out of town?”

“Oh I—” Before Tim could speak, several shots ranged out.

**_~.~_ **

Gibbs was five seconds away from killing his Senior Agent, really he was! And he wouldn’t take the much effort either; all he would have to do is reach for his gun and…..  

**_Ring!_ **

Save by the cellphone.

“Gibbs!” he barked into his phone, he listened to the other on the phone before snapping it shut, and turning to his team.

“Gear up, we got a bomber” he said, gathering his things and heading to the elevator, his team right behind him.

Once the door closed Gibbs felt a bit of worry, the shooter (A Marine, who was possibly having a PSTD episode) was in his neighborhood, where his new…roommate was, that worry quickly dissolved, the store while close to his house wasn’t the only one, there was one closer and chances that Tim would go the one that was being held hostage was very slim.

When they got to the place, police was there, along with FBI.

“Tobias” Gibbs said in way of greeting.

“Gibbs” Tobias responded.   

“Agent Slacks!”

Beside the Senior FBI Agent, a tall African-American Agent sighed, before glaring at Gibb’s Senior Agent.

“Jackass” the Agent replied.

Both Agents flinched when their Bosses’ smacked them upside the head.

“Enough you two” Tobias said before informing Gibbs on what’s going on, “the Marine in there is Jonny Millar, we’ve been tracking him through three states, he held up three grocery stores and killed six of his hostages”

“And why is NCIS just now hearing about him?” Gibbs asked as they made their way to the head police officer, next to him was a young man who had to be a negotiator.

“Progress?”  Gibbs asked.

“All we know is that there a dozen hostages, possibly more” said the officer; he then pointed over to a group of people, “the group over there got out through the back”

 “We didn’t know he was a Marine” Tobias said, answering Gibbs’s previous question.

Both Leaders ignored Tony’s mumble that was no doubt rude and unprofessional, before Gibbs took the microphone away from the negotiator.

“Johnny Miller!” he called, “let’s talk”

**_~.~_ **

Tim wasn’t sure if this was just something the Norms (people who didn’t live in the Ark) did, or if this was really bad, judging from the eight crying people and the way Meg was clinging to him, Tim figured it was the later.

“Stop crying!” The man with the gun ordered, making everyone jump in fear.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t wave your gun around so much” Tim supplied, blinking curiously when Meg shushed him, the young woman gave a soft squeak when the gunman turned his gaze to them.

“Are you telling me what to do?!”

Tim shook his head, the man narrowed his eyes at him, before jumping at the sound of someone‘s voice shouting outside.

“Johnny Miller!” said the voice, “let’s talk!”

It took Tim a moment to figure out why the voice sounded so familiar, when it clicked, he gasp, it was his husband!   

“Damn it!” the gunman cursed, his eyes swirling everywhere before they landed back on Tim, “come on” he then ordered, grabbing Tim’s arm.

“No!” Meg cried.

“Shut up, or I’ll put in a bullet in your head!” the gunman, apparently named Johnny shouted before dragging Tim to his feet and out the store, gun pressed against his skull.

Tim blinked in surprised at the sight of flashing cars, and what seem like thousands of people. His eyes trailed over everything, before they landed on his husband…who didn’t look happy. Tim looked away from his husband to the person beside him and gasps.

_“What is he doing here!?”_

**_~.~_ **

When Johnny emerged out the store, Gibbs cursed, beside him he heard Ron curse as well, though he figured it was because the Marine had a hostage, and not because said hostage was his wife…husband….he’ll figure it out later.

“Hey Johnny” Gibbs said, putting down the mic

Johnny narrowed his eyes, body tensed pressing the barrel of the gun closer to McGee’s head.

Gibbs glanced at Tim’s face, the young man looked surprised, and maybe a bit confused, but not scared.

…Huh.

“Can we talk?” Gibbs then said, turning his attention back to Johnny.

“So talk, ain’t going make much of a difference” Johnny answered.

 “And how can you be so sure?” Gibbs asked.

Johnny smiled and clicked his gun.

Gibbs tensed, his heart raced.

“Johnny—”

Whatever Gibbs was going to say was interrupted when suddenly McGee was flipping the Marine over his shoulder and down onto the ground.  


	5. Chapter 5

In the stunned silence, all eyes focused on two men, one was on the ground moaning and groaning. The other looked…confused.

“Um…was I not supposed to do that?” Tim asked.

The sound of his voice snapped everyone back into action. Several officers came through picking up and cuffing the groaning man at Tim’s feet; other officers moved past Tim to help the rest of the hostages, cautiously entering the store in case there were a few more…surprises. Tim watched it all for a moment before turning his eyes to his husband who was walking towards him. Tim lowered his head when the man stood close and stared him down.

“So,” Gibbs said after a moment. “This “Ark” has lessons on dealing with hostage situations?”

“N-No,” Tim stuttered, “I-I uh, I uh…”

“Tim!”

Tim squeaked when suddenly he was wrapped tightly in strong arms, and his face buried in a broad chest.

“God, are you okay?!”

“Mmph?” came Tim’s muffled reply.

“Scared the crap out of me when I saw you!”

“Mmph” Tim replied again.

“What?”

“Mmr.”

“Huh?”

“Mmr!”

“Mmr? Oh Air!”

The arms released him, Tim greedily sucked in air, before glaring at the person who almost smothered him to death.

“Sorry,” Ron said sheepishly.

Gibbs, who had been pushed aside by Ron stared at the two, raising a surprised brow when Tim hugged the FBI Agent, his face pulled in a huge grin.  He was even more surprised at his own emotional state, one he pushed back to study later.

“What are you doing here?” Tim asked when they pulled apart.  

“Work,” Ron answered. “But what about you? What are you…Oh….”

Gibbs watched the silent communication between the two men, and the conclusion he was coming up was both shocking and surprising. He also wondered if Tobias knew that his partner was possibly a Bearer…or if the FBI Agent was possibly married to Agent Sacks.  Either way someone had some explaining to do.

“McGee?”

Both jumped and turned wide-eyed at him, Tim squirming and blushing slightly when he realized he had forgotten about his husband. Ron looked between the two, dark eyes flashing in realization just as Gibbs’s team and Tobias appeared, the looks on their faces told the ex-Marine that they knew something juicy was going on and they wanted to know and they wanted to know now.

Bunch of gossips.

With a soft sigh, Gibbs ignored them as he grabbed hold of Tim’s arm, and led him to the car.

“Ziva, you’re in charge” he said.

“No fair!” Tony whined, pouting at the smirk the woman sent his way.

“Gibbs?” Tobias said.

“Later.”

Once the two were inside the car, Gibbs drove off.

**_~.~_ **

The ride back to what Tim assumed was the house was silent and tense, the younger male trying not to squirm in his seat as he desperately tried to calm his racing heart. When he glanced at his husband, he was met with an unreadable expression.

He tried hard to beat down the fear that was hammering, his mind pulling up conversations at the Ark, of spouses who hit on their Bearers, treated them like animals and locked them in cupboards, attics or basements. When they pulled up to the house, neither moved to get out, Tim nervously glanced at the older man who tapped at the steering wheels with his fingers.

“Um—”

“Tomorrow, before I go to work we’ll go shopping for food,” Gibbs said, interrupting whatever Tim was planning on saying.

Tim blinked at the sudden information, jumping when those intense blues eyes turned his way and stared at him…there was something in them that had Tim’s heart hammering again, but for a different reason.

“O-Okay.”

Gibbs nodded, satisfied, he got out the car, with Tim scrambling to follow.

When they got into house, Gibbs took out his phone and called Ziva to check in. Tim watched him for a moment before deciding to head to his room. As he went up the stairs the day finally caught up to him and his body suddenly felt very tired and heavy. 

When he entered his room, Tim collapsed onto his bed face first; he stayed in that position for a few moments before rolling over until he was staring at the ceiling. His mind replayed everything that happened, and for whatever reason he started giggling, then outright laughing.

Loud and bright.  Downstairs, still listening to Ziva talk while Tony babbled in the background, Gibbs looked up with a curious expression. 

**_~.~_ **

The next morning Gibbs woke up to Tim cooking the last of the eggs and bacon.

“Morning” Tim said when the man entered the kitchen.

Gibbs grunted as he all but flopped in the chair.

Tim concluded that his new husband wasn’t a morning person, as he fixed a plate of food and placed it front of the man, who didn’t even look at it. Next, Tim began fixing a cup of coffee and blinked in surprise when Gibbs perked up, much like a dog hearing the dinner bell, got out of his chair and made a beeline for the coffeemaker.

Tim watched wide-eyed as the piping hot liquid was drained. 

“How did you know how I liked my coffee?” Gibbs asked, now awake.

“Lucky guess?” Tim answered.

Gibbs stared at him for a moment before going back to his food; he noticed that there was only one plate and one place set.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

Tim looked surprised at the suggestion of joining the other man for breakfast, but fixed a plate and sat down none the less.

The meal wasn’t exactly tense, but it wasn’t comfortable either, afterwards the two headed out to the grocery store, though not the one that was involved with the hostage situation.

This store was much bigger than the last, and Tim was just as amazed, so much; that he forgot about his husband as he excitedly asked a rather amused clerk about how many different kinds of fruits and vegetables they had in stock.

“McGee.”

Tim stopped his babbling and flailing arms and turned to the man, blushing when he realized he forgotten completely about the other man, who looked more amused and perhaps a bit surprised than anything else.

“S-Sorry,” Tim stuttered.

To the surprise of both the men, Gibbs merely ruffled the other’s hair.

“First time in a grocery store?” the ex-marine asked as they finally began moving down the aisles.

“Yes.  The Ark…the Ark didn’t like us going out,” Tim said, stopping when he found the fresh product section.  “At all.  They said it wasn’t safe for us to be around people without our spouse to protect us.”

“Seems like you can protect yourself just fine,” Gibbs commented remembering the previous day, a hint of approval and pride in his voice, watching as Tim picked up two different types of peppers and examined them after the marine said he liked them.

“T-That…” Tim blushed and stuttered, “That was j-just something Ron taught me and Jimmy. He used to watch the guards practice; he’d mimic them, and then show us.”

 _“So Ron **is**_ a _Bearer,”_ Gibbs thought, before asking “Who’s Jimmy?”

“My friend and another Bearer,” replied Tim.

Tim bagged the two peppers, and moved on to examining other fruits and vegetables. Gibbs noticed while Tim picked the picked the ones he liked, the younger didn’t pick anything he, himself liked. Moving away from the produce section, they headed over to the meat area, Gibbs asking questions about the Ark and Tim answering them.

The ex-marine learned that Tim and the other Bearers never left the Ark. Sure, they went outside of their housing, but were surrounded by large walls and watched constantly.  They were homeschooled, but only in the basics, such as reading, simple math, and writing. They had books and entertainment though it seemed to Gibbs that any type of reading and entertainment that was allowed was very closely monitored. The Bearers/Potentials at the Ark had other lessons; lessons though seemed mostly on how to please your Spouse, take care of the home and children, pretty much how to be the prefect wife/husband…and nothing else.

_“So how in the hell did Ron Sacks become an FBI Agent?”_

After grocery shopping, they loaded up the car and headed back to the house. Once they’d gotten all the bags in the kitchen, Gibbs let Tim place everything where he wanted, after the younger male declined any help when the older man asked. Tim seemed very terrified at the very thought.

None of his last wives knew much about the workings of a kitchen, so it was mostly unused, and just gathering dust after his final, no, last marriage.

He went upstairs to get ready for work, when he came back down to check on Tim, the younger man was preparing what had to be dinner, and on the kitchen table was a packed lunch.

“Oh!” Tim startled when he saw the man in the kitchen. “I didn’t hear you. Uh, I made you a lunch for work, it um…” Tim trailed off, unsure of how to proceed while squirming under the intense gaze.

“Thanks,” Gibbs said picking up the bag; a foreign emotion washing through him at the fact that lunch had been made for him (though how Tim made it so quickly was a mystery).  “I may be home late.”

Tim nodded and then watched him leave. 

In the car, Gibbs sat for a minute in the driver’s seat, wondering what had just happened, and why he felt a little light. He turned the key in the ignition and started off to work.


	6. Chapter 6

 

It was around one in the afternoon.  Tim had just gotten off the phone with Gibbs, who’d called to check on him, when there was a knock on the door. Tim went over to the door but then stood still. He wondered if he should answer or not, wondered if it was a burglar, but then realized burglars wouldn’t knock, would they.

“Tim, it’s me,” came a familiar voice through the door.

“Ron?”

“Yeah. I’m coming in.”

Tim stood back and watched open mouthed as the door opened.

“Hey Tim!” Ron said with a smile.

“Ron? You have a key to my husband’s house?”

“No, he just leaves the door unlocked, although he probably shouldn’t now that you’re living here,” Ron said frowning.

Tim brow furrowed as he considered this. Gibbs never locked his door? Was that a normal thing among the Norms or was his husband a special case? Judging by the way Ron was frowning in disapproval it was probably the latter. Speaking of which…

“How did you know where I live?”

“Long story.  I’ll tell you over lunch. Come on, grab your shoes.”

“Okay. Wait! I have to call my husband first.”

“We can call him on the way there,” Ron said, putting a hand on Tim’s arm. 

“Are you sure? I mean, he may not like me going out, or he may need me to do something, or —”

“Tim,” Ron said stopping the other man’s rambling and him from rolling his eyes. “ _I’ve been away from The Ark for too long. I’ve forgotten what it’s like for someone just coming out of there_.” He thought before speaking again, “Stop worrying, you won’t get in trouble. I promise. Really.  Now, please put on your shoes and let’s go.”

Tim fidgeted for a moment. He was of two minds. The part trained by the Ark told him to stay, that his spouse will not be happy with him leaving the house without permission. The other part though, the adventurous part, the part in him that The Ark had tried to squash, was urging him to go on and explore.

Tim grabbed his shoes.

**_~.~_ **

Gibbs was on his way to autopsy, when his phone rang. He frowned at the unfamiliar number but answered the call.

“Gibbs”

“Uh, Gibbs, this is, um, Tim.”

Looking again at the unknown number on his screen, Gibbs’s frown deepened and he began to worry. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Uh, nothing really, I mean I don’t think, I mean I’m not sure, I mean—”

“McGee!” Gibbs barked.

There was a small squeak on the other line then silence.

 _“Nice one Gunny.”_ Gibb _s_ mentally head-slapped himself.

“Mc—Tim, you still there?” the ex-Marine said starting again.

“Y-Yes.”

“Good.” There was a pause. “Okay. So tell me what’s going on.”

“Ron came over and he’s taking me out to lunch.”

 “Ron?”

“Yes, my friend from yesterday….is that okay?”

There was hesitation and a bit of fear in Tim’s voice. Gibbs hated himself, knowing that he was the cause of it.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Gibbs then said, voice softening. “have fun.”

“Okay, uh, bye!”

Gibbs couldn’t help but give a small smile at the excitement coming from the other end before he hung up, and the elevator doors opened.

 “Ah Jethro. I’ll be with you in a moment,” Ducky said before going back to his telephone conversation. “No, don’t worry…Mother always does that…Yes, she always does that too…Yes, hiding all the wine was the right thing to do…let her keep the butter knife in her brassiere, I’ll deal with that when I get home.” He smiled picturing Jimmy, his mother, the Corgis and the chaos. “Don’t worry Jimmy. You’re doing a wonderful job, and yes, Mother does like you…Goodbye.”

Ducky hung up the phone with a small shake of his head and a sigh before turning back to Gibbs. “My apologies Jethro,” he said, “Mother and my new spouse are spending the day together,” he explained with a chuckle.

Gibbs nodded, though he wondered if Ducky’s new spouse ‘Jimmy’ was the same Jimmy that Tim had mentioned.

“How are you and your spouse doing?” Ducky asked.

“Fine.  The body, Duck.”

Knowing he wasn’t going to get anything more from Gibbs, he said, “To business as usual. Now let’s see...Ah. If you look here, Jethro…”

**_~.~_ **

The dinner that Ron had chosen was small and quiet with good food and friendly staff, the perfect place to have lunch with Tim, who seemed a bit nervous.

 _“Understandable.”_ The FBI Agent thought, remembering yesterday’s incident.

“Relax Tim. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

Tim looked over at his friend who smiled reassuringly at him. He nodded and relaxed a little, then began to look over the menu the waitress had given him.

“I’d try the tacos, they’re really good, and nothing like what the Ark fed us,” Ron remarked, scowling and wrinkling his nose at the thought of the diet the Ark enforced.

Tim nodded and looked over the various kinds of tacos with some amazement. He had no idea there were so many ways to make a taco. This would take him a minute.

“What are you getting?” Tim asked Ron.

“A double bacon cheese burger with fries and then cake for later,” he replied, smiling in anticipation.  “Just don’t tell Tobias because I’m not supposed to be having any of this stuff.”

“Tobias? He’s your husband?” Tim asked in a surprised voice.

“Nope, he’s my boss and I live with him and his daughter,” Ron said. “Her name is Emily, she’s a sweetheart and has Tobias wrapped around her finger.  You’d love her.”

Tim nodded, though he couldn’t help but notice how Ron’s eyes sparkled at the mention of Emily. He had always wondered what had happened to his friend. “ _How did he survive?”_

He hesitated for a moment before voicing his thoughts. “What happened to you after you…got out?” Tim asked, giving a quick glance around the restaurant to make sure no one was listening. It wouldn’t do for both of them to get in trouble.

Eyes turned thoughtful at the memories before speaking, Ron sipped his Pepsi “ _something else I’m not supposed to have”_ while watching Tim take a sip of his raspberry ice tea.

“After I got out, I was lost. I didn’t know where I was, what I was going to do, or what I needed to do. The Ark was right when they said it wasn’t safe for us. I mean I was lucky to know a few defensive moves and they kept me safe, but even those weren’t enough nor did they feed me.”

Ron stopped when their waitress came back and took their order. Ron put in his while Tim had decided on the chicken tacos and salad.  Once she left them Ron resumed his story.

“After a while I managed to get comfortable on the streets, especially once the Ark’s security stopped looking for me. It was a little too comfortable I think, because I accidentally ran into a gang doing a ‘job’ on a rainy night.”  Taking a sip of his soft drink and noting Tim’s confused expression, he continued, “I’ll explain later.  Anyway, there were too many of them, so I ran. Didn’t think, just ran. Kept running for a long time until I finally found a yard with some trashcans to hide behind. As they ran past me I kept quiet and stayed hidden.  I don’t think I’d been that scared in a long while since getting away from The Ark. I fell asleep and Emily found me the next morning. She asked Tobias if she could keep me.” Ron chuckled at the memory. “And he did,” the FBI Agent concluded.

Tim realized he was staring, open mouthed. “Um, does he know that you’re…?”

“Not sure,” replied Ron. “I think he suspects, but I don’t bring it up and he doesn’t either.”

“ _However, with Gibbs now in the picture, it probably will be.”_ He sighed to himself.

Their food came.

“How did you become an…a.…whatever you are?”

“An FBI Agent. That, my friend; that’s a story for another day. Now eat your lunch before it gets cold.”

“Still as bossy as ever,” Tim mumbled before doing as he was told. He picked up the taco and took his first bite. His eyes widened and his taste buds came to attention. “Oh my god! This is so amazing!”

Ron chuckled as he bit into his burger. “ _You don’t know the half of it.”_


	7. Chapter 7

After lunch Ron took Tim to a park that was part of a small wooded that surrounded a large lake. Runners used the paths that ran through the woods.  The FBI Agent led his friend to a spot underneath a tree near the lake.

“This lake is bigger than the one at the Ark,” Tim said looking around. He sat down on the grass with Ron.

 “Yeah, the first time Tobias took me here I noticed that too.”

A mother duck followed by her ducklings came out of the lake and waddled up to them.  Tim’s eyes lit up and he cooed at the little family.

“Here,” Ron said, handing over the brown bag he had brought along when he picked up Tim at the house. “Give them this.  The ducks in the lake are very friendly because people who come to the park keep giving them free meals.”

“You give them paper bags?”

“No, they get the bread **_in_** the bag.”  Reaching into the bag, Ron took out a slice of bread, tore it into small pieces and tossed them at the eagerly waiting ducks with Tim following his example.

Glancing sideways at Tim after several minutes of silent feeding, Ron spoke up.  “You know what I’m going to ask, don’t you?” Tim glanced at him curiously.

“How did you ever end up married to **_Gibbs_** of all people? Especially with your status!”

Tim didn’t say anything at first, letting one of the more curious and bolder ducklings nudge at his fingers; he then looked at his friend. He sighed.

“A couple of years after you left and didn’t come back; Jimmy and I thought you had finally made it, finally had the life you dreamed of.”  Tim sighed again. “We didn’t want to think of the alternative. We decided that we could take that risk too and we had planned to escape but after you left, and they couldn’t find you, the Ark tightened the security and we couldn’t find a way out like you did, so I kind of sort of hacked into their system.”

Smirking, Ron looked at his friend who squirmed, “Tim? How do you “kind of sort of” hack into a system?”

“Shut up!” Tim continued his tale, “When I got in, it was Jimmy’s idea to put us in the group for the federal government, hide in plain sight and all, you know. I noticed there was a large amount of rejects from a certain government group. We figured if we got picked by one of them, we’d possibly have more freedom than we would have if we had ended with the Ark’s pairing.”

Tim paused, eyes widening in alarm when more ducks started to surround them, wanting bread. Ron tossed more to them. Tim continued, “We knew it was risky and we knew it was possible that we would get caught or worse our spouses would be like the rumors we’d heard, but, well…” he trailed off, unsure of how to explain the next part.

Luckily Ron understood as he took Tim’s hand in his. “I know,” he said.  Tim smiled back at him.

“Hmmm. So you didn’t know that you’d be paired with Gibbs then, nor do you know who Jimmy was paired with?” Ron asked after a moment, though he didn’t let go of the others’ hand.

 “No”

“All right.  I’ll look into that and see what I can find out.”

“Thank you, Ron.” Tim smiled at his friend who was as always looking out for him and Jimmy. Insistent quacking drew his attention back to the ducks, and he resumed feeding them.

 “What’s he like?” Tim said after a few moments. “Gibbs, I mean.”

Ron looked over at his friend, who refused to look away from the ducks, though his eyes kept glancing at him, a small blush dusting his cheeks.

“Well … he’s a bastard on a good day; has a bit of a temper. Tobias knows him better than I do.  Was an Marine sniper, and I’m pretty sure he lives on coffee.”

The hand in his tightened slightly.

“Despite all that, though, he is a good man, and a damn good NCIS Agent…just don’t tell him I said that…or Tobias.” 

Tim gave a little giggle and loosened his hand.

**_~.~_ **

The only reason he took out, warmed his lunch, and brought it to his desk was because his team had gone out to lunch themselves and he expected them to take the full hour.

“Oooh, is that from your new wife?” **_Not_** come back five minutes later.

They ignored Gibbs’s glare as they wandered over to his desk to look at the lunch that Tim had made for him, which was leftovers from last night and a bottle of water.

“Smells good,” Ziva said, “Guess that means she can cook.”

“I think it’s a requirement that they have to learn,” Kate said.

“Does she clean too?” Tony asked. “I mean your last wife thought a broom was something witches used.”

Gibbs ignored them as he started eating.

“Hey Boss, is she a redhead? You never told us.”

“Must she always be a red-head Tony?”

“Yes, maybe she’s a blonde.”

“Or a brunette.”

“I wonder if she has big breasts.”

“Tony!”

“What?”

“That’s disgusting!”

“I just wanna know!”

“Why do you need to know? It is not **your** wife.”

“And Tony, do you have to say it like that?”

“Hmmm….yes, ow! Boss, Ziva hit me!”

Gibbs sighed internally. _Why did the government think I needed children again?_

“Anyway, I’m sure she’s a lovely woman and I hope to meet her.”

Pausing, in taking the next bite of his lunch, Gibbs said, “Who said anything about my new spouse being a woman?”

Silence then. “Wait, our new mom is a **_guy_**!?”  

Smirking to himself, Gibbs resumed eating.

**_~.~_ **

“Donald! There is an odd boy in the living room!”

“Yes, Mother. That’s Jimmy.  My new wife.” Ducky sighed.

Jimmy couldn’t help but smile at the happy and loud squeal that came through the doorway before his husband and mother-in-law entered the room.

“Oh, she’s adorable,” his mother-in-law cooed.

Jimmy didn’t even bother correcting her. His husband had advised against correcting his mother in this regard. That and Jimmy didn’t really care because he knew he **_was_** the wife, as the Ark has taught him. There was no gender when you were a Bearer.

Victoria came over to him and Jimmy found himself being groped.

“She has a good waist. Oh, and look at those eyes!”

Ducky sighed before prying his mother away from the younger man. He then ushered her into the dining room for dinner with Jimmy not far behind and the dogs bringing up the rear.

“So tell me, my dear, do you want a lot of children?” Victoria asked over the salad.

“Mother please,” Ducky mumbled.

“Oh yes,” Jimmy said automatically. It was after all the appropriate response, “Many.”

“Finally!” Victoria all but squealed, “I’ll have some grandchildren!”

Jimmy smiled while Ducky just shook his head.

After dinner Ducky left his mother to her shows and headed upstairs to talk to Jimmy.

“Jimmy,” Ducky said knocking on the doorframe.

“Yes, Dr. Mallard?” Jimmy asked, jumping a bit because he hadn’t heard the man come upstairs.

“I’ve told you before to call me by my first name or Ducky, either one will do.”

“Oh yes, I’m sorry … Ducky,” Jimmy said blushing, still a bit embarrassed about their first meeting.

When the man had introduced his new husband to him as Dr. Mallard, Jimmy thought that was the man’s name and after reassuring Jimmy that he should call him by name, the Bearer had started calling him Dr. Mallard, much to Ducky’s amusement.

“I hope Mother wasn’t too much trouble today.”

“Oh no,” Jimmy said smiling, “I—I think I’m getting used to all of your mother’s…quirks.”

Ducky chuckled, “Well, that’s good to know.  Mother can be a handful sometimes.  I know Anthony and Catlin had some trouble with her.” 

Jimmy hesitated; he had heard Ducky mention those names before especially when Victoria had asked her son about the Italian Gigolo and the girl with the naughty knickers.  He was curious about them and while it was obvious that his new husband loved to tell a story (stories that Jimmy found himself enjoying), Jimmy wasn’t sure if it was his place to ask such questions, though Ducky had been nothing but kind and patient towards him.

“Uh, those people. Anthony and Catlin, I mean.  Are they the Gigolo and girl with the knickers your Mother has mentioned?”

Ducky blinked at him before letting out a laugh. “Yes,” he said, “That would definitely be them although I wouldn’t take my mother’s words to heart.”  Ducky smiled and Jimmy soon found himself sitting on the edge of his bed listening to his husband spin a tale. 

**_~.~_ **

When he got home, it was later than he expected and dinner was waiting for him.  Usually he would have just picked something on his way home, but the thought of Tim’s home-cooked food had the ex-marine ignoring his usual fast food place.  After eating dinner (Baked Salmon with a dill sauce, wild rice and string beans), Gibbs found himself heading upstairs to check on the other occupant of the house and was surprised to find Tim still up.

“Hey” he said softly.

Tim jumped and squeaked, nearly falling off the bed he was laying on and in the process of all this, dropping the book he had been reading.

“O-oh, you’re home,” Tim said, “I-I, uh, didn’t hear you come in.”

Gibbs didn’t say anything as he entered the room and picked up the book, raising an eyebrow at the title.

“Little Women?”

“R-Ron t-took me t-to this place called Barnes and Noble, and b-bought this and two more books for me.”

Gibbs stared at the man who just squirmed.

“Ron brought you books? the Agent finally said.

Warily, Tim nodded, checking for Gibb’s reaction. “Is that okay?” he then asked softly.

“…Yeah…so you had a good time today then?”

Tim nodded and had a big smile on his face.  “Yes, I did. We went to this diner. It had amazing tacos. I didn’t know there were so many variations.” The younger man continued rambling on. “Then we went to this park afterwards, that had a lake and there were ducks, a mother duck and ducklings and we fed them and then—”

Tim trailed off when he realized that during his recounting of his day that Gibbs had sat down on the bed, intense blue eyes staring at him, head slightly tilted as the man listened to him.

“Uh, t-that was, uh, it,” Tim said, suddenly nervous and a bit horrified that he had been babbling on and on.

“No it isn’t,” Gibbs said, “you forgot about Barnes and Noble.”

“O-Oh yes,” Tim said hesitantly.

“Well?” Gibbs urged when the other didn’t continue.

“Oh, uh yes, Ron took me to Barnes and Noble.” The big smile was back.  “It was big and quiet like a library and they had books on everything! Ron let me pick three books out and bought them for me.”

Tim shyly showed him the other two and Gibbs read the titles:  Sherlock Holmes and Treasure Island.

“Good books,” he said, “I liked Treasure Island.”

Tim’s eyes widened, “You’ve read Treasure Island?”

Gibbs nodded. “I haven’t read Sherlock, but I know it’s popular, so it must be good.”

“Have you read Little Women?”

No, but his Shannon had loved it and used to read it to Kelly….

Blue eyes that had been open for a moment became clouded and closed.  Tim didn’t know what to say or what to do, so hesitantly he touched Gibbs’ arm and jumped when the other jerked.

“Uh...”

Gibbs stood quickly causing Tim to flinch.

“Good night,” Gibbs then said looking down at Tim before leaving the room.

Tim watched him go. He wondered what he’d said to make Gibbs sad. He wondered if he’d ever get to know his husband. He wondered if he should ask Ron. Tim was slowly coming to realize that Gibbs was both a complicated and complex person. He wondered where Jimmy was and how he was doing. He really needed someone to talk to. Most of all, he wondered if he could really do this. 

Suddenly the excitement of the day paled and the book he was reading held no interest for him.

He put the book on the bedside table, settled back into bed, and turned off the lamp.


	8. Chapter 8

“You’ve been really quiet, Tim,” Ron said, glancing away from the road to look at his friend.

Tim looked away from the passing scenery. “Have I?” he asked.

Ron nodded turning back to look at the road. “Has something happened?” he asked.

Tim squirmed in his seat, “Um…N-Not exactly,” he said softly.

“What does that mean?” Ron asked.

Tim squirmed some more in his seat before answering. “Well, I, uh, I think I may have upset my husband.”

Ron went still (an interesting feat considering he was driving), before pulling the car off to the side of the road. He shut off the motor and turned to the younger man and Tim almost shivered under his intense gaze.

“Upset him? How?”  Ron’s voice was hard, his eyes blazing and protective.

“I-I…”

“Did he hurt you, Tim?” Ron asked angrily.

“No! He didn’t! He just got very quiet and then he left.”

“Is that all? Are you sure? Is that the truth?” Ron asked not convinced, eyes roaming over the Tim trying to find any signs of abuse.

“Yes!” Tim answered firmly.

The two stared at each other a bit before Ron nodded restarting the car and pulling back into traffic.

“So what happened?” Ron asked after a few minutes.

“We were talking about the books you bought me and everything was fine. At least it seemed to be until I asked if he read any of them and then he just…got quiet.”

Ron frowned at the information. “Gibbs,” he stated “is a complicated person.”

 _“Don’t I know it”_ Tim thought before going back to looking at the passing scenery.

**_~.~_ **

Hearing the doors to Autopsy slide open Ducky Mallard looked up to see Gibbs striding over to the table where he was working.

“I messed up Duck.”

“Well Jethro,” Ducky said chuckling and taking a moment to look up from the body he was examining, “despite what Abby and your team think, you’re not really perfect.”

Not hearing the expected comeback he looked up to see Gibbs standing there, arms crossed looking, to the older man’s surprise, quite anxious.

“What has happened Jethro?” Ducky asked.

“Last night I did something stupid with Tim.”

Ducky took off his gloves tossing them into the bio-waste bin while ushering Jethro over his desk.

“Now, tell me exactly what happened.”

And Gibbs did.

“Oh Jethro, it’s not the end of the world,” Ducky said when the other finished his tale, a small smile playing on his lips. “Just apologize, and if you can manage it explain your actions to the lad. I’m sure he’ll understand.” When the troubled look didn’t go away or at least ease up a little Ducky tried a different approach. “Perhaps you should try flowers as well.  I’ve heard that those from the Ark like them.” Well, that was more of experience than rumor.  Ducky remembered that Jimmy seemed quite taken with his mother’s garden, much to the older woman’s delight. 

“Flowers?” Jethro said.

 “Yes, Jethro.” Ducky sighed. “Flowers.”

“I don’t do flowers, Duck.  I don’t think I’ve ever done flowers. Not even with Shannon.”

“And neither do you do apologize, but it has to be one or the other.”

Sighing, Gibbs asked, “What kind of flowers do you think he’d like?”

Ducky chuckled.

**_~.~_ **

“What are we doing here?” Tim asked as they pulled up to a large house. “Who lives here?”

“It’s a surprise,” Ron said grinning as he got out the car.

Tim followed and stood by as Ron rang the doorbell.  There was the sound of footsteps and then the door was opening.

“Jimmy?”

“Hey Jimmy, you got taller.”

“Tim? Ron?”

Soon the three were hugging and laughing and Jimmy was pulling his friends into the house.

“Wow! I thought I’d never see you guys again,” Jimmy said when they were all sitting on the couch.

“Same here,” Tim said.

“How did you find me?”

“I had a friend of mine look you up,” Ron said, keeping his answer vague.  

The next hour was spent with the three catching up:  what Ron had been doing since his escape from the Ark, what were Tim’s and Jimmy’s new husbands like, did Jimmy get along with his mother-in-law (who was spending time with her nurse at the senior center today).

 “Uh-oh, we’re going to be late,” Ron said looking at his watch.

“Late for what?” Tim asked.

“Another surprise,” Ron said. “So, Jimmy, grab your coat and let’s go.”

After calling Ducky to make sure it was all right for him to leave, he pulled a jacket from the closet by the front door, and the three men piled into Ron’s car and were off.

“What is this place?” Jimmy asked looking around when they arrived at their destination.

“A movie theater,” replied Ron smiling.

 Wide eyed both younger men looked over at him excitedly.  They had heard about movie theaters in the Ark, and how it had all kinds of good food and how you could watch everything on a huge screen.

“Come on guys, our show’s starting soon.”

Eagerly the two followed Ron on a new adventure.

**_~.~_ **

When Tim got home, Gibbs was down in the basement. Torn between wanting to tell him about his day and dreading a repeat of the previous evening, the younger man paused at the doorway hands fidgeting. After a couple of minutes, he shook his head and headed upstairs. When he got to his room he was surprised to find a vase full of sunflowers on the table by his bed. A small card was propped up in front of the vase.  On the card was one word.

Gibbs truly was a complicated man, but, Tim thought with a smile, that was beginning to be all right with him.


	9. Chapter 9

 

When Gibbs enters the kitchen the next morning, insides churning nervously, he is greeted with the sight of his husband's back. The ex-marine clears his throat nervously.

"Oh!" Tim says startled as he whirls around. "Uh, Good Morning."

"Morning." Gibbs says before sitting down at the table, a cup of hot coffee waiting for him. He takes his first sip noticing that Tim has turned back to the stove and whatever he's cooking for breakfast. It smells like those sausages Tim bought from the store and Gibbs sniffs the air appreciatively. Some moments later a plate of pancakes with sausages and eggs is placed in front of the Agent, followed quickly by a kiss on the cheek.

Gibbs blinks. And blinks again.

He glances up at Tim who's standing there fidgeting with his hands, a blush on his cheeks which darkens when Gibbs raises a surprised eyebrow.

"Erm, thank you for the flowers," Tim manages to get out before all but fleeing from the kitchen before Gibbs can say another word.

Gibbs just finishes his breakfast and gets off to work.

It's only after a few hours at work that he notices the bewildered looks he keeps getting from his Team and other agents. Pausing for a moment to wonder what it's all about, Gibbs realizes he's been smiling all morning.

**_~.~_ **

"Tony! Tony!" Anticipating the usual 'crash and crush', DiNozzo steps out the way.

"Ack! Hot coffee Abby!"

Tony rolled his eyes fondly as Abby doesn't even apologize as she bounces over to Kate and Ziva.

"Ziva, Kate, guess what?"

"Finally got those tickets to the Black Zombie concert?" Kate guessed.

"That's still a work in progress and really, really, really not important right now!"

By now Abby was partially vibrating. "How many  _Caf-Pows_ have you had so far?" asked Tony, a bit concerned, it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

"Lost count," Abby announces in a blasé manner. "Anyway back to the news and it's BIG! Ducky's brought his husband in to work."

"No way!" Tony was suddenly standing next to her. "When? Where?" he demanded.

"Earlier this morning. He's down in autopsy, and he's so cute!" states Abby excitedly.

"Who's cute?" asked Gibbs rounding a corner.

"Gibbs!"

"Why is it that every time I come from my break, no one is working?"

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, Ducky's husband is here," Abby said as she bounced over to the Agent when he sat down at his desk.

"I know," Gibbs said.

"Of course he knows," Tony grumbled as he made his way back to his desk, just as Gibbs's desk phone rang.

"Gear up," Gibbs said hanging up the phone.

All three agents gathered their things. After all a dead body was a guaranteed trip to Autopsy and a possible look at the new husband.

**_~.~_ **

Ron had to work, and Jimmy was spending the day with his husband at work, so Tim was on his own. After cleaning the house (keeping clear of his husband's room and basement, despite not being told, Tim knew they were forbidden territory, the little girl’s room as well), Tim decided staying in the house would drive him crazy. He decided (he was getting a bit better at it) to go out and explore. He made sure he had his keys, money, and the new cellphone given to him by Gibbs a few days back, and with that done Tim left the house.

He made his way into to town, making sure to pay attention to where he was so he wouldn't get lost. He went into nearly all the stores he saw and stopped by the bookstore purchasing two new books to read, and then around noon he stopped at a diner for lunch.

After placing his order, Tim took out his phone and stared at the device. _“Should I call him?”_

He rubbed his thumb over the screen, biting his bottom lip, and cheeks flushing as he remember the event this morning, and wonders if his husband was now well and truly angry at him. 

_“Though he didn't look like he was angry”_

_._  In fact his husband… _Gibbs_ , he thought to himself,  _I've got to start thinking of him that way and not as 'my husband' ,_ looked surprised and shocked before Tim ran out of the kitchen to hide in his room until the other man left.

Opening the contacts, Tim scrolled down to Ron's name, hesitating for a moment before remembering the day when the other Bearer had given him his number and said to call him anytime, and Tim had asked about when he was at work. Ron merely replied that  _"The job is about 10% footwork and 90% paperwork, so the chances of you calling me when I'm out in the field is pretty low."_

Taking a deep breath, Tim pressed the call button.

**_~.~_ **

Tobias Fornell looked up from where he was reading the profile of their next case when he heard his partner's cell phone ringing. Ron was nowhere in sight, so he got up and went over to the other desk. For a moment he was surprised that Ron would leave his cell phone and made a note to scold the younger man before answering it.

"Ronald Sack's phone, Tobias speaking."

There was silence on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Erm, Ron?" came a soft hesitant voice.

"He's not here, who's speaking and can I take a message?"

"This is uh Tim and um…" Tim was beginning to panic and wondering if Ron would get into trouble because of his call.

It took the FBI Agent a moment to figure who 'Tim' was, and once he did remember the older man felt a bit guilty for answering his partner's phone, even though he knew Ron has never cared before. It also brought up the questions that Fornell had pushed to the back of his mind until he felt he was ready to address them to Ron.

"Okay, I'll let him know you called," Tobias found himself saying quickly to the stuttering person on the other end before hanging up, and just because the Universe was out to get him today, Ron came back in and saw him.

"Who was that?" Ron asked when he put down the brown bag that contained their lunch.

"Well, you would know if you had your phone with you," Tobias said giving him an exasperated look while putting down the phone. He then started going through the bag, so he didn't have to look at his partner's face.

"Tobias?"

"A friend of yours. Tim."

"Did he say anything?" Ron asked in a worried tone.

"Well, he tried," Tobias answered, hand emerging from the bag with a wrapped sandwich, "but couldn’t get the words out, so I told him you'd call him back."

Ron nodded before picking up the phone and plucking the sandwich from Tobias' hand. "Yours is the yellow one." Ron called back over his shoulder as he made his way to the break room for privacy.

Tobias wrinkled his nose at the sight of a container of salad.

 “ _Well at least it has chicken in it”._

He sighed.

It was well past midnight, by the time they left work and walked into their home, and neither man was surprised to see both babysitter and Emily asleep on the sofa.

"Thanks," Tobias whispered as the babysitter woke up and stared at him blearily. The young woman gave a sleepy smile, before yawning and got up to gather her things.

While Tobias took care of the babysitter, Ron had scooped up Emily, the child hardly twitching as he carried her to her room. Once there he tucks her in and gently kisses her forehead. It's only when he's nearly out the room that his little girl (because Emily is **_his_** , blood be damned!) stirs.

"Mama?"

Rolling his eyes at the timing, the Ron went back over to the bed, sitting on the edge. "Yeah sweetie?"

"You're late," came the sleepy reply.

"I'm sorry, the bad guy was giving me and your Daddy a lot of trouble today."

"You got him?"

"Yep."

"Snoopy Waffles?" came another yawn.

"Yes," Ron chuckled, "Snoopy Waffles, now go back to sleep."

"Don't wanna." came the protest even as her eyes closed and her breathing evened out.

Ron smiled before getting up from the bed and stepping out the room heading toward his own.

"Still can't get use to her calling you that."

Ron paused in taking off his holster to smile at his boss. "Doesn't bother me," he said. And it was true. Maybe it was because of his Ark training (the teachers there always told them that they as Bearers did not have a gender) or maybe because hearing it come from the little girl's mouth made his heart swell with love, but Ron liked it when Emily called him Mama.

He still remembered the first time she said it. He was still fresh from the Ark, and had just agreed to the training to become an FBI Agent. The three of them were having dinner when Emily turned to him and said "Mama". The look on Tobias's face still makes him laugh to this day, and when asked why she called Ron Mama, Emily had said  _"Because he does all the stuff a Mommy does, like taking care of us, cleaning, cooking, kissing boo-boos, and bossing you around, Daddy!"_

"And why is that?"

Coming out of his memories, Ron looked back at Tobias who standing in the doorway; he plays back the question in his mind and frowns as he hears the implied questions beneath the words.

"You wanna do this now? It's nearly two in the morning," Ron whined as he took off the rest of his clothes.

"Fine. Later then," Tobias said after moment's pause and went to his room.

Ron sighed knowing that breakfast was going to be very interesting.

**_~.~_ **

After breakfast (which was Snoopy Waffles, a tradition that was started after Ron caught his first bad guy and they celebrated with Snoopy shaped waffles and have ever since), both Fornell and Ron watched Emily get on the bus for school, before returning to the house.

"Alright then. Ask away" Ron said as he began clearing off the table.

"Are you a Bearer?" Tobias asked bluntly.

"Yes." Ron replied, turning on the faucet and squirting in some dish soap. Once the sink was full of hot soapy water, he put the dishes in, and turned around to face Tobias leaning back on the counter.

"From the Ark?"

Ron nodded.

"That day Emily found you outside by the garbage cans, you really were hiding from a group of gangsters like you told me?"

"I was. When I ran away from the Ark, they, the people from the Ark, looked for me for about a year, then they stopped. The gangsters were another story."

Tobias nodded taking in the information being given to him. He'd had his suspicions for some time that his housemate and partner was a Bearer. Well no, at first he thought the young man had been a gang member or drug dealer and wasn't too keen on the other being in his house so close to Emily; but after weeks of finding no information on the young man or seeing any suspicious looking people around his house he tossed out that theory.

He didn't think that Ron had actually  ** _run away_** from the Ark because from what he heard that place was locked tighter than Fort Knox.

"Why?" the older man then asked.

Ron tilted his head indicating not understanding the question.

"Why did you run away?" Tobias clarified.

"Ah! I'd lived in the Ark since I was a baby, never knew who my real parents were. The only people I could talk to were others like me and the guards there. Every day from my bedroom window I’d watched the Norms walk by, and always thought to myself wouldn't it be great just to go out there for one day and be just like them? To have a choice in what, where, how, when and why, Norms don't seem to understand, and I'll admit that because I'm not still in the Ark and my life is different now, that is something I forget too. Me. Us. Bearers. We  **don't**  have a choice, but we  **want**  one."

"….So you ran away"

"I ran away, escaped, whatever you want to call it, and have never looked back, no regrets. Well one or two. I couldn't take Tim and Jimmy with me."

"Those two. I'm guessing they're not runaways like you."

When Ron hesitates, Tobias raises an eyebrow.

"No, not exactly," Ron said, wondering how much information he should give the other man, before deciding 'Screw It' and answer every question honestly. He owes Tobias that much for all he's done for him.

"What do you mean,  _not exactly_?"

"Well…on paper it says that Jimmy and Tim are legally married, but just not to the 'right' men."

"Explain"

"In the Ark, Bearers/Potentials are categorized into stars, the highest is a five and the lowest is one."

"What do the stars mean?"

"How fertile we are. I'm a three, which is average."

"And Tim and Jimmy are…?

"Fives."

"That high?"

"They're both extremely fertile, but Tim can only birth more Bearers while Jimmy is both receptive and non-receptive."

"So," Tobias said after a minute to let it all sink in, "basically the two of them are very rare."

"Yeah, and you can just imagine how happy the government was when they heard about them."

"They probably craped cows."

When Bearers were discovered, it was quickly learned that those who carried the gene, couldn't fertilize the egg, the sperm just wouldn't latch on; and not only that but the Bearers made up not even half of the human population, which explain why the government was so possessive of the ones they had.

"Something like that, and because of that, Bearers like Tim and Jimmy could only marry a specific kind of Norm."

"Meaning whoever the government picked."

"Yeah, it's in the database and everything."

"So how did Gibbs and Ducky…I can't imagine…" Tobias trails off as it all comes together. "Oh. **_Oh_**!"

"Yeah."

"Who?"

Smiling, Ron said, "Tim. He kind of sorta hacked into the Ark's system."

"How do you  _kind of sorta_  hack into a system?"

Ron merely laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: While Tim expects and accepts what is being done to him, he lacks understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable, especially since Gibbs is drunk and how man reacts to the morning after, so the scene in this chapter could be considered non-con. Just a heads up.

 

Jimmy had never met a Goth before, but he had the impression they weren't as happy as Abby.

"And this is Bert!" Abby said happily indicating the animal in her arms.

"Hello." Jimmy said to the stuffed animal that was all but shoved in his face, blinking in surprise when it was handed to him.

"Squeeze him," he was instructed, "he likes it!"

So Jimmy did just that and jumped at the loud farting sound.

"Uh—". He honestly didn't know what to say or where to look or what to do, in fact.

Giggling, Abby grabbed his arm and pulled him over to her computer to show him how the fingerprint matching system worked just as Kate came in.

"Oh, hey Kate!"

"Hey Abby," responded Kate. "Gibbs sent me down here to see if you've got anything." Her eyes never left Jimmy, who squirmed.

"Um...H-hello?" Jimmy said.

"Hello. You're Jimmy, right? Ducky's husband?"

Jimmy nodded.

"I'm Kate."

"It's nice to meet you," Jimmy said. "Doctor Mallard told me a lot about you."

Kate titled her head at the formal title but said nothing about it, and merely smiled before turning her attention back to Abby. "Got anything?"

Abby, pigtails bouncing, grinned before turning to her computer. Jimmy hovered in the background and listened to them talk. He found he understood about half of what the Forensic Scientist was saying (and that was thanks to some of the books snuck to him by a guard) but the other half sounded like gibberish.   _I wonder if I'll be allowed to go to the library. Dr. Mallard seems pretty easy going but it's still early into the marriage._

"Ah Jimmy, here you are."

All three whirled around and saw a smiling Ducky entering the lab. "Good afternoon Ladies. I was wondering if I might have my husband back. We have a lunch date."

Jimmy blushed when the girls cooed. Chuckling, Ducky took hold of the younger man's arm, "Come along, Jimmy."

"Yes, Doctor Mallard," Jimmy said smiling and turning to the girls. "It was nice meeting you both."

"You too!"

Jimmy followed Ducky to the elevator, only to have to turn back around and give Bert back to Abby, then hurrying back to the waiting elevator.

**_~.~_ **

"Abby is a very interesting person," Jimmy said.

"That she is," Ducky chuckled.

They were sitting on a bench in the park that was a NCIS favorite, mostly because it was close to the office. They were eating hotdogs, something Ducky didn't usually indulge in but decided to give his husband a special treat after learning of the younger man's former strict diet in the Ark.

"Ah! I almost forgot, I have a gift for you," Ducky said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small wrapped item.

Jimmy took the item and unwrapped it.

"I apologize for being so late in giving it to you," Ducky said as Jimmy stared at his shiny new cellphone, "and I do hope it's to your liking. The young man who helped me pick it out assured me you would."

Jimmy smiled before leaning over and kissing the man on the cheek. "Thank you."

After lunch the two headed back to NCIS. Stepping onto the elevator they joined Tony who had two delicious smelling large brown bags in his arms.

"Your turn to do the lunch run Anthony?" Ducky inquired.

"Yep. Is this Jimmy?" Tony asked peeking from behind the bags.

"Yes, Anthony, this is my husband Jimmy. Jimmy, this is Anthony DiNozzo."

"Nice to meet you," Jimmy said with a small smile.

"Same here. I would shake your hand but, well, you know."

"Do you need any help?" Jimmy asked.

"There's no need for that, Jimmy. Anthony here is a strong young man and is quite capable of handling two bags."

Tony stared at Ducky just as the door to the elevators dinged open.

"And this is our stop," Ducky said.

"Nice meeting you Anthony," Jimmy said following the older man through the doors.

"Yeah, you too."

Jimmy giggled when Tony jiggled to the keep the bags from falling before he lost his grip.

**_~.~_ **

The case they had was one of those rare ones were they suspect was easily caught and the paperwork was done in minutes, the team happy to be going home early decided to celebrate with a drink (Ducky had declined due to having to take care of his mother though he had told Jimmy he could go). Abby was able to convince Gibbs to join and had even suggested he bring Tim. A quick and a bit confusing call home later resulted in a confused Gibbs. “ _How the hell does the kid not know about alcohol?”_ he was riding solo.

He had only planned on staying an hour and have one drink, but lately he's been feeling…light, almost happy and soon one drink turned into a couple, and one hour became two.

Around one in the morning, his husband stumbling into the bedroom woke Tim up.

"Gibbs?"

Gibbs blinked rapidly when the lights suddenly came on. He looked around frowning when he realized this wasn't his bedroom.

"Gibbs?"

Gibbs blinked at Tim who was sitting up bed before giving him a drunken smile.

"Tim!"

Tim stared as his husband stumbled his way towards him, his body bouncing when Gibbs belly flopped onto his bed. Wide-eyed, Tim watched as Gibbs rolled around on his bed before settling into a curled up position snuggling into Tim.

"Hi!" Gibbs said smiling and looking up at Tim.

"Uh, hi?"

Tim noticed a smell. It was a burning type smell. It wasn't strong but it wasn't easy to ignore either. Suddenly Gibbs sat up and hugged him; Tim sat there in the man's arms surprised at the sudden wave of affection from the other man. Gibbs then pulled away to look at Tim. 

Large green eyes, full natural pink pouty lips, soft skin, and even soft looking hair and curves in all the right places.

And he was all Gibbs.

Humming happily, Gibbs pressed his body closer.

"Gibbs?" Tim asked uncertainly.

Humming again Gibbs nuzzled the younger's man ear, before nibbling on it, grinning when he got a soft surprised gasp. Encouraged, he sucked on the lobe giving it an occasional lick with his tongue.

"G-Gibbs wha—?"

"My pretty Tim," Gibbs murmured.

Tim blushed.

The younger man gave a sudden surprised yelp when the mouth moved from his ear to his neck, gasping when a sensitive spot was sucked on, large and warm hands snuck their way under his night shirt and up his chest.

"Oh!” Tim moaned when a nipple was rubbed, squeaking when his shirt was suddenly pulled off.

With what could only describe as a growl, Gibbs pushed the younger man down and rolled on top of him. Tim blinked by the sudden change in position and froze when lips pressed against his. The younger man gasped when one of his nipples was rubbed again, and Gibbs used that moment to push his tongue in the Tim's mouth, moaning at the taste (while Tim noted that Gibbs tasted like that strong and burning smell).

When the Agent pulled away (leaving Tim flushed and panting) he moved down to Tim's neck, sucking licking and biting marks on the skin, making Tim give breathless moans. Leaving the neck Gibbs moved down to the smooth chest and took a nipple into his mouth.

Tim mewled and arched, hand going up to grip the surprisingly soft hair, a warm mouth suckled the hard bud until it was swollen and red.

**_~.~_ **

Tim felt like he couldn't get enough air, yet he had too much, everywhere Gibbs's hands and mouth touched made his body feel all hot and tingly.

"Oh!" Tim moaned when a tongue teased at his bellybutton.

Suddenly everything stopped; just stopped, bewildered and curious Tim looked down to see his husband fast asleep, the young man stared at the man.

" _That's it?"_ He thought. 

**_~.~_ **

It was three in the morning and while others were tucked in their beds fast asleep, Ron and Tobias were stuck at FBI Headquarters doing paper work and were close to setting all the paper on the desk on fire. Ron was glad his cellphone rang.

"Sacks," Ron answered softly, glancing at his Boss dozing in his chair.

"Uh...hi Ron."

"Tim? What are you doing calling so late? Is something wrong?"

"Um, I'm not sure."

There was a pause and the sound of a breath being taken in.

"I think I just had sex with Gibbs."

"WHAT?"

Tobias fell out of his chair.

**_~.~_ **

Gibbs woke up feeling like someone was stomping on his head with spiked shoes, while his mouth felt like something had crawled in and died. Burying his face in the pillow, Gibbs cursed himself and last night's outing. A slight movement beside him had him peeking from his pillow.

He froze.

There lay Tim asleep.

Face peaceful, which was a big difference to his body. His neck was covered in hickeys and his naked chest was no better.

Gibbs remained frozen in the bed, eyes wide, when all of a sudden as though someone had hit his 'on' switch, Gibbs scrabbled out of bed.

_Oh God, what did I do last night!?_

He desperately tried to remember what happened, but couldn't remember anything past his last drink. He couldn't even remember how he'd gotten home.

"Gibbs?"

Panicked blue eyes looked over at the bed where a sleepy-eyed Tim was staring at him.

"T-Tim?"

The ringing of his cell phone from his pocket had him jumping; instinctively he took out the phone and answered it.

"G-Gibbs."

"Hung over too?" came Tony's voice from the other end.

Gibbs didn't answer, eyes staying on Tim, who stared back with a tilted head. "Gibbs, are you alright?" Tim asked.

"Boss?" inquired Tony from the other end.

"Y-Yeah," Gibbs finally said pulling himself together. "What is it Tony?"

"Dead Navy officer," Tony answered and rattled off the address.

"Alright," Gibbs said before hanging up.

Tim watched as his husband stared down at the phone, before looking up at him, eyes lingering on his chest, and Tim blushed under the attention, jumping when Gibbs suddenly headed for the door. Watching his husband leave in a flustered state made the Bearer wonder what was going on.

**_~.~_ **

"Is it me or does Gibbs seem extra…Gibbs?"

All three Agents stared at their Boss who was reducing their suspect into tears before they turned to look at their Director.

"Still hung-over, I think," Tony guessed.

" ** _Can_**  Gibbs get hung over?" Kate said.

"Perhaps it's something at home?" said Ziva.

"Nah, Gibbs would never let anything at home affect his work," Tony said.

All four looked back at the interrogation going on, the suspect looked five second away from dropping dead with fear. Everyone was sure he'd already wet himself.

"Are you sure about that?" Ziva asked.

Their suspect turned out to be another lead and Gibbs sent his three Agents to check it out, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

His thoughts were not happy ones.

In fact he felt like he was going to be sick, what he did to Tim…he….

Several heads looked up at the sound of a fist slamming into the desk, but quickly going back to work when intense blue eyes glared at them. Taking a deep breath Gibbs leaned back into his seat, his mind going back to this morning and Tim.

Tim. Tim who hadn't even fought back the previous evening, the proof was in the lack of defensive wounds he remembered not seeing on Tim’s body and on himself when he finally pulled up the courage to looking himself in the mirror when he went to the bathroom.

" _Probably couldn't,"_ he thought bitterly.  _"Probably was taught not to."_

The Agent wouldn't put it pass those idiots at the Ark, the kid was SO damn submissive around him, the younger man probably just laid there while he…God, he needed air.

Getting up Gibbs headed for the elevator.

When the three Agents came back, Gibbs hadn't still returned.

**_~.~_ **

"Explain."

Jimmy sat beside Tim, his friend squirming under Ron's intense gaze, fiddling with his straw.

"Erm...well...," Tim stuttered, glancing around the diner they were in, eyes panicked.

When he'd called Ron last night, telling his friend that he just had sex with Gibbs, Ron had nearly left the office, Tim had convinced him to stay at work. Ron only agreed to it if Tim agreed to meet him at their now usual diner so the other could explain.

Now they were here for lunch.

"Tim," Ron said softly, hand reaching out to stop the fiddling, "It's okay, just tell me what happened."

Taking a deep breath, Tim did, when he was done, Ron wasn't sure if he should feel relieved, laugh or go put a bullet through Gibbs's head. All three sounded good.

"Okay listen," Ron said after a moment. "You did  ** _not_** have sex with Gibbs."

Jimmy stared at Tim, mouth agape.

"Really?" Tim asked. "But we—"

Ron gave a small smile. "Trust me, you didn't have sex. What happened last night is what's considered a heavy make out session"

"Make out?" Jimmy inquired.

It took Ron a moment to remember that when it came to sexual intercourse the Ark was very tight-lipped about it. They never said anything about it (Guards were instructed to  **never, ever**  say anything about it around the Bearers) only that it was used to reproduce. There weren't any classes about it now that he thought about it. Ron had no clue as to why they didn't; then again he never liked to think about the Ark beyond Tim and Jimmy. And obviously Jimmy and Ducky weren't having sex.

"Remind me to give you the books and DVDs," Ron said to Jimmy's question.

"So…I didn't have sex with Gibbs?" Tim finally said.

"No," Ron answered.

Tim frowned, a bit confused as to why he felt upset about that.

"However, though, it does answer one question," Ron said.

Tim blinked at him. "About what?"

"Gibbs is very possessive," the FBI Agent said, pointing to the hickeys the shirt was unable to hide.

Tim smacked away Jimmy's hand when the other poked curiously at his neck and Ron snickered.

**_~.~_ **

It was around eight at night and they had come to a dead-end on the case. Kate, Ziva and Tony were in the bullpen bouncing ideas off each other, while Gibbs was in the Director's office no doubt getting questioned by his odd behavior.

"Really Tony? Strippers?" Kate sighed.

"It could happen!" Tony huffed.

"Somehow I doubt that," Ziva chuckled.

"What would you know?" Tony grumbled.

"So this is what NCIS teams do? Talk about Strippers?"

All eyes swirled around to the right, to see Ron standing there with an amused smirk on his face. Behind him was a younger man, with short blonde hair and large nervous green eyes. He was holding a red lunch bag and looked a bit familiar.

"What are you doing here Slacks?" Tony asked rudely. "And where is Fornell?"

"Does the FBI come bearing a lead for our case?" Kate asked.

"Nope," Ron answered Kate, ignoring Tony. "I'm just playing escort today. Where's Gibbs?"

"With the Director." Ziva answered, eyes on the increasingly nervous man next to the Agent.

"Mind if we wait here?" Ron asked, looking like he didn't want to, but the NCIS women knew it was mostly because of Tony.

"Yes," Tony said snarkily.

"No," said both Kate and Ziva

Tony pouted but didn't say anything when Ron escorted the young man to the empty desk and into the chair next to Kate's. The moment Ron leaned against the desk his phone rang.

"Sacks," he answered.

Ron listened then gave a little smile and after quietly telling the young man he'd be right back, Ron left the bullpen. The moment the man left, Tony pounced.

"So. Are you Slacks' new Probie?" Tony asked.

"I'm...sorry?" the young man said.

"What? They have another name for Probie at the FBI?"

"I don't understand," the young man said.

The young man jumped when a hand came up to smack Tony on the back of the head. "Tony, leave him alone. It's obvious he's not an Agent," Ziva said, having gotten out of her seat to save the young man from her nosy partner.

"Don't mind him. His mother never taught him how to mind his own buzzwax," Ziva said to the young man who was staring at her.

"Beeswax," Tony corrected, rubbing his head.

"Bees have wax?"

Tony gave Kate an "why me" look, to which the she just smiled and went back to her notes.

Leaving it alone, Ziva turned back to their guest. "Ziva David" she introduced herself.

"You're very pretty," the young man blurted out, blushing when he realized he said it out loud.

Tony snorted, while Kate gave a soft "aww". Ziva smiled. The man was kind of cute. "Thank you," she said, "Mr…"

"Oh! Timothy Gibbs…is something wrong?" Tim asked when Ziva's eyes widened.

Kate's head popped up and Tony, who had started nibbling on a candy bar nearly choked.

"Did you say Gibbs?" Kate asked standing up from her desk and going over.

"Yes," Tim replied. "Is something wrong?" He asked again.

"Er, no," Kate said "It's just that our Boss's last name is Gibbs."

"I know," Tim said, remembering what Gibbs had said when Tim had shyly asked about his job. "He's my husband."

Despite their suspicions being confirmed, three jaws still dropped. This cute (even Tony had to admit that the man was rather cute) obviously shy young man was their Boss's new spouse!

" ** _You’re_** our new mom?!" Tony exclaimed.


	11. Chapter 11

 " ** _You're_** our new mom!?"

At first Tim stared blankly at the others, then his eyes widened.

 _My husband already has children?_!

"Erm...?"

"Really Tony," Kate sighed as she smacked the Senior Agent upside the head startling Tim. "He's just joking," she said as she turned to Tim.

"Uh...Okay," Tim replied weakly.

"He's always joking, I feel badly for whomever he marries. Anyway I'm Catlin Todd, but everyone calls me Kate, you know Ziva and of course this is Anthony DiNozzo, but everyone calls him Tony."

"It's nice to meet you all," Tim said smiling shyly.

"Tim?"

All four heads turned and watched Gibbs come down the stairs followed closely by the Director who did not look happy.

"What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked when he got to his desk, "how did you get here?"

"You forgot your lunch," Tim said as he stood, picking up the bag on the desk and holding it out, "and Ron drove me here."

Gibbs took the lunch bag held out to him ignoring the small "aww" from Tony.

"Thanks," he said softly.

Tim smiled before his attention was taken by the Director (who had been informed by Ziva and Kate of the situation). Tim introduced himself.

After putting his bag down, Gibbs looked at his husband, but saw nothing that indicated to him that the younger man was traumatized by last night's events, but then again how would he know what to be traumatized about? Aside from what Tim had told him, Gibbs knew nothing about the Ark and/or what they did or taught. The only way he'd know if something were wrong would be by asking. And talking has never been his strong point.

Looking back at Tim, his stomach twisting with guilt, he decided he owed it to the younger man to try.

Hours later, Gibbs arrived home to find his husband in the living room on the sofa reading a book. On the coffee table was a bottle of bourbon and a glass that was no doubt waiting for him.

"Hello," Tim greeted, looking up from his book.

"Hey," Gibbs said softly.

He paused and considered sitting down next to the other man. Finally he took off his jacket, tossing it over the sofa arm, then sat and bent down to take off his shoes. "That a new book?" Gibbs asked after as he poured himself a glass of bourbon.

Tim nodded. "After we left NCIS, Ron took me to get a new one at the bookstore."

Gibbs found, despite knowing that Ron had come from the Ark (and he still needed to look into that), and the older man was just trying to help Tim get used to the world outside of the Ark, that he didn't like how much time the two were spending with each other.

"How was work?" Tim asked.

"Work was work," Gibb answered before sipping his drink.

There was silence and Gibbs found himself squirming in his seat.

"Is something wrong?" Tim asked, putting down his book and looking at his husband.

Gibbs sighed and downed the rest of his drink and poured another but didn't drink it. He looked at his husband who was waiting patiently for a response.

"About last night..."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Tim said smiling.

Gibbs paused. "Don't…worry about it?"

"Yes. Ron explained it to me."

What. The. Hell?

"Explained what?" Gibbs asked.

"That we didn't have sex," Tim said calmly.

"But last night I—"

"You were acting weird that night," Tim explained, "and you smelled a little funny, then you—" and here Tim trailed off and blushed. "Anyway, R-Ron called it a make-out session. I-I mean, you touched me and everything but that was all that happened."

Somehow that didn't make Gibbs feel any better.

"Does...does that bother you?" Tim asked after studying the other man's face.

Gibbs sighed rubbing his face with both hands before answering. "Yes."

"Oh." Tim said softly, and he found himself frowning as something in him twisted at the thought that his husband didn't like touching him in such a way.

"I lost control," Gibbs continued on. "That night; I lost control and could have hurt you."

"But you didn't."

"But I could have! And what's worse you wouldn't have—"

Tim jumped when the man hit the coffee table with his hand rattling the things on it. He looked at his husband whose face…it was an expression he'd never seen before. If he had to describe it, the word would be...broken. Tim found he didn't like that expression on Gibb's face.

"Last night," Tim said softly, "when you came into my room and…did...that to me, I was confused, actually very confused. Everything was just so new, different...so many new sensations. I wasn't sure what to do, but…but I didn't dislike like it."

Gibbs jumped when his hand was gently taken. "Gibbs," Tim smiled shyly when his husband looked at him, "it's all right. Everything's alright."

Gibbs looked at the smiling young man then down at their entwined hands. Tim tilted his head at the huff of laughter. His eyes widened when his husband leaned towards him and kissed his forehead.

Gibbs gave a small smile at the blush.

**_~.~_ **

Morning found Gibbs following the smell of brewing coffee.

"Morning Boss!"

Gibbs stood in the kitchen doorway, blinking sleepily at the sight of his team sitting around the table at six in the morning.

"Tony, you know Gibbs isn't Gibbs before his coffee," Kate laughed as she watched Tim hand his husband his first cup of coffee of the day.

"Why are you all here?" Gibbs asked once he'd had his first sip.

"Breakfast," Kate answered as she looked up from setting the table.

Gibbs looked at his husband who gave a sheepish smile. "They said it was alright," the younger man said, a bit of worry in his voice.

"It's fine...for today," Gibbs said, knowing his team would understand his meaning (and no doubt ignoring it), before sitting down.

Tim nodded and smiled before turning his attention back to the stove.

"Allow me," Ziva said getting up to help plate the food.

"Thank you," Tim said smiling.

Once everyone else had been served, Tim made his own plate and sat himself next to his husband.

"This omelet is awesome!" Tony said around a mouthful of his bacon, cheese, and sausage omelet.

"Tony, chew your food," Kate sighed, making a face when Tony opened his mouth showing his chewed up food. Kate sighed again.

"That is disgusting," Ziva said, frowning while Kate threw her napkin at the Senior Agent.

Gibbs sighed.  _"What have I done in a past life to deserve this?"_

He glanced at Tim when his husband giggled.

"So, Tim, what did you think of NCIS?" Kate asked.

"It's very big," Tim answered, "and the Director seems nice."

Tony snorted while Gibbs's lips twitched.

"Nice isn't a word we would use," Kate said at Tim's curious look.

After a breakfast that consisted of bickering between the three agents, Gibbs ignoring them and Tim watching in a mixture of awe and amusement, Tim handed Gibbs his lunch along with a thermos of coffee.

"Um, here," the younger man said to the other Agents.

All three stared at the brown bags sitting on the counter.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you proper bags for these," Tim said nervously when they continued to stare.

"You made us lunch?" Tony asked.

Tim nodded, nervously wondering if he had somehow overstepped.

"You didn't have to do that," Kate said.

"I wanted to," said Tim with a smile.

Gibbs intervened again. "And that is fine for today," he said to Tim, knowing how Tony would abuse the privilege.

After taking their lunches, Kate, Ziva, and Gibbs headed for their cars. Tony stayed back in the kitchen after Tim had shyly asked if he could have a word.

"What's up?" Tony asked leaning against the counter.

"Well, um...I was wondering if you'd—you'd..." Tim blushed.

Tony tilted his head as he waited patiently for the stuttering younger man to ask his question, wondering if perhaps the younger man was going to ask for information about Gibbs.

"I was wondering if you'd—if you'dteachmeaboutsex!" Tim said quickly.

"….Huh?


	12. Chapter 12

Tony sat down at his desk, eyes glazed, his mind going over the conversation he'd had in his Boss's kitchen. More importantly to the answer he'd given.  _Why in the hell did I say yes?!_ He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Something wrong Tony?" Kate asked from her desk.

"I'm going to die," The Senior Agent whimpered.

Because Gibbs is no doubt going to kill him when he finds out and Gibbs always finds out.

Ziva shrugged when Kate looked questioningly at her.

" _It wasn't like I could say no when those big green eyes were looking at me like that!"_ Not only that, but Tim had made a very compelling case, a  ** _really_**  compelling case during their conversation and Tony had been impressed before he returned to the problem at hand.

"But why are you asking me?" Tony had asked.

"You have experience from what I heard the other day, and I feel like I can trust you," Tim had said before giving a small shy smile.

" _Yep. Definitely doomed."_

**_~.~_ **

Tim had just finished folding the day's laundry when there was a knock on the front door. He was, after a quick look at the time, surprised to see it was already two o'clock. He got up from the sofa and went to open the door.

"Hello Tony," Tim smiled as he let his guest in.

"Hey Tim," Tony says as he entered, a black messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

"Are you hungry?" Tim asked as he led the older man to the living room.

"No thank you," Tony replied. He found having a bad case of nerves had taken away his appetite.

Tim nodded as he finished straightening up the living room. Grabbing the laundry basket, he went upstairs to his room. He placed the basket on the floor next to his bed before getting the big notepad and pen that he used to write down the grocery list, reminders or just random things. Heading back down, he tried to ease his excitement; ever since Ron had told him that he and Gibbs hadn't had sex that night he had been curious.

What exactly  ** _was_** sex?

He'd figured he could ask his husband obviously, but the one and only time he had brought it up Gibbs had given him an almost terrified look than he quickly changed the subject. Jimmy was out for obvious reasons, and because of his unpredictable and sometimes busy work schedule Ron had yet to talk to him about it or given him the items he had promised earlier. Just as he was giving up on never knowing, he remembers Tony.

On that one trip to NCIS, Tim learned that Tony was an expert, or at least that's what he gathered from the ongoing conversation. It was just his luck that the team had come by that morning.

"Oh god! You're going to be taking notes?!" Tony whimpered when he sees the notebook and pen.

"Shouldn't I be?" Tim blinked, confused.

Tony sighed. "No, it's okay. Sit down so we can start, okay?"

Tim sits and eagerly waits. Tony is silent for a moment, inwardly thanking god, the universe and whoever, that his Boss is at a mandatory two day workshop that all team leaders had to attend once a year in Virginia. Tony's not sure he would be able to explain why he was giving Tim a sex talk if Gibbs was here.

"Alright, so..." Tony begins, "let's talk about sex."

**_~.~_ **

When Gibbs returned home two days later, it was early evening. He'd bought Tim a present: a souvenir mug from the gift shop in the Holiday Inn where the workshop had been held. It had cost him an arm and a leg;  _It's a mug, for God's sake!_  But Gibbs found he didn't really mind, especially when he imagined the (hopefully) surprised and delighted look on Tim's face.

He found his husband in the kitchen, finishing up dinner, so he knocked on the doorframe to get his attention. Surprisingly, when Tim turned around, his face went completely red. From the tips of his ears all the ways down his neck.

"Hey," Gibbs said after a moment's pause.

Tim squeaked and whirled back to the counter.

Gibbs looked around the kitchen but he saw nothing out of the ordinary, nor had he seen anything when he came into the house. Looking back at Tim, the Agent decided to leave it alone for the moment, and walked over to the kitchen table. He placed the bag on the table and took out the mug wrapped in white thick paper. He moved to stand beside Tim, he leaned up against the counter and was taken aback when Tim jumped, the Agent then watched his husband's face, if it were possible, turn a darker red.

"I got this for you," Gibbs said holding out the package.

Tim looks down at the gift curiously and slowly takes and unwrap it.

"Oh!" The mug was medium in size with the words Virginia in cursive with the state's colorful landmarks in the background. It wasn't really anything special but Tim smiled.

"Thank you," he said looking at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded, a little smile on his face.

**_~.~_ **

"I am so sorry! Please don't kill me!"

Gibbs stared at the Senior Agent who was down on his knees in front of him, clinging to his legs.

"Why am I going to kill you?" Gibbs asked.

Tony mumbled something, but whatever it was, was muffled by his face pressed into Gibbs's pant leg. Gibbs sighed to himself and while once again asking God what he did to deserve this, smacked the man upside the head.

"DiNozzo"

Tony looked up at him.

"Calm down, and tell me what happened."

The arms around his legs tightened and Tony whimpered.

"I taught Tim about sex!" DiNozzo wailed and buried his face back into the man's pants

"You...what?"

One hour, two cups of coffee, and a promise not to shoot later, Gibbs got the whole story. He is both relieved, confused, and oddly enough, irritated.

He's relieved, because Tim had been acting odd since he'd gotten back that day, blushing and refusing to look at him. The younger man kept stuttering out some kind of excuse or other when Gibbs asked if something had happened or if something was wrong. So knowing the reason relieved the tension he was feeling.

He was confused. First, because he didn't understand why Tim wanted to know about sex, so when he asked Tony and got his answer, he's even more confused.

Why he was irritated, he's not sure and at the moment didn't want to think about that too closely, didn't want to be too focused on the fact that Tony had given his husband Sex Ed 101.

"He didn't know anything, Boss," Tony said, now relieved that he wasn't going to die. "I mean he knew what a make-out session was but only because Sacks told him about it. I don't know what those people at Ark are doing, but I don't like it."

Gibbs agreed with him, all kind of thoughts going through his mind, though one gave him a pause.

"Did you let him watch porn?"

Tony blushed and squirmed, "It was the quickest way," Tony mumbled, "and it was soft core."

**_~.~_ **

"You did  ** _what_**?!"

"I asked—"

"I heard you the first time, I just can't believe you actually asked, or that it was DiNozzo."

Ron sighed and rubbed his temple, and then looked at his friend who was now talking with an excited Jimmy.

"So, how was it?" Jimmy asked.

"Very interesting. The videos were really helpful."

"Oh god! Please tell me he didn't show you porn," Ron groaned.

"What's porn?"

"Not answering that."

Jimmy and Tim pouted before going back to their conversation.

"I was a little embarrassed afterwards though. I couldn't look my husband in the eyes, still can't. Oh! I made notes. See?"

Ron made a strangled sound when Tim placed a dozen or so pages on the table. It wasn't the fact that his friends were talking about sex, or the fact that it was DiNozzo who had done the teaching instead of him. It was the fact that Tim had found out  ** _on his own_**. He was shocked and a little sad to put it simply. Tim and Jimmy were beginning to adapt to being outside of the Ark and its influence, soon they wouldn't need him anymore.

"Hi, you guys ready to order?"

Coming away from his thoughts and staring at their waitress, Ron realized that perhaps they shouldn't be having this conversation at a diner they frequent regularly.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony is scheduled back to the house to give another lesson on his next day off. Tim, apparently, is very curious about sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, so when the day finally comes, Tony arrives only to find Gibbs had already left and made his way to Ducky's house.

"Good afternoon Jethro," Ducky greets when he opens the door, "you just missed Mother on her way to the Center and Jimmy is taking the dogs for a walk."

Gibbs follows the man to the kitchen, where Ducky proceeds to make them a cup of tea. It's only when he's nearly finished with his tea, and listening to Ducky talk about his most recent date with Jimmy that it hits him.

He's never been on a date with Tim.

The thought surprises him, along with the warm feeling he gets at the thought, but the warmth is quickly overlapped by guilt. Despite his work schedule, he still could have spent time with his husband. Yes, they do slightly talk at breakfast; and if he didn't work late he and Tim would talk a bit but that was it. He also refuses to address the night he came home drunk. He sighed.

"I see from the look on your face that you've just had a sudden and possibly upsetting epiphany," Ducky said, bringing the man out of his thoughts.

Gibbs sighed again. "You could say that, Duck."

"Care to share?"

Gibbs hesitates; thumb caressing the edge of his cup, swallowing before speaking.

"Tim and I…we've never been on a date."

"Ah," Ducky smiled, "well that is something that can be easily corrected."

"It's been a while."

"Oh Jethro, dating is just like riding a bicycle."

"Bicycling is easier."

**_~.~_ **

Tim walks a red-faced Tony to the door. Tony, for his part, is trying hard not to run to his car. Tim watches from the porch as the Agent gets into the car and drives off. Reentering the house he heads to the living room, gathering up the glasses and takes them into the kitchen to the sink before going back to collect his notepad. He looks over the notes before going upstairs to put it in his room. Going back to the kitchen, he starts on the night's dinner, getting out the glass pan with the pre-seasoned chicken breasts from the refrigerator and placing it on the counter. He turns on the oven for it to preheat, then starts on the vegetables.

Gibbs gets home just as Tim is taking the chicken out of the oven.

"Hey," Gibbs says as he entered the kitchen.

"Hello," Tim says smiling before turning his attention back to the food, "dinner is almost done, if you're hungry."

"Sounds good. This is for you by the way," says Gibbs holding out his hand.

Tim blinks at the grey tin with a logo on it, and then looks questioningly at his husband.

"Tea leaves from Ducky. Earl Grey."

"Oh! I've heard about that from Jimmy," Tim said, taking it, "he says it good."

"We can have it after dinner if you want." Gibbs then offers.

Tim nods before heading over to the cupboard where the plates are. He's surprised when Gibbs gets there first and takes two out and hands them to Tim.

"Thank you," Tim says, before plating the food and doing his best to conceal his astonishment when Gibbs starts setting the table.

"Um, I made lemonade," Tim then offers, Gibbs nods and gets it to fill the glasses.

The young man finishes fixing the plates, and sets them on the table, then takes his seat.

"Looks good," said Gibbs, eager to taste the food. So far everything Tim has made had been beyond delicious and he now looks forward to the home-cooked meals.

"Thank you."

Silence falls as they eat, with Tim blushing when Gibbs complements the food.

"Listen, I was wondering," Gibbs said once he cleared his plate, "on my next day off, would you like to do something…together?"

Tim blinks, and then blushes when he realizes what the man is implying.

"A date? Y-You want t-to go on a d-date, w-with me?" the young man asked, blush darkening.

"I just thought it would be nice to spend the day together, but only if you want" Gibbs added hurriedly when he saw the wide-eyed look.

"I—" Tim fiddled with his napkin.

"Forget it, you—"

"No!" Tim exclaimed, startling the both of them. "Um, I mean, I do want to…go on a date with you."

Gibbs stared, and Tim continues fiddling with his napkin, and that warm feeling falls over the older man.

"Okay then" the Senior Agent said with a small grin.

**_~.~_ **

Ron and Tobias were at the park with Emily. The young man was watching Tobias push Emily on the swing when his phone rang.

"Hey Tim."

_Ron, I need help!_

Waving when Emily called out to him, Ron frowned, "What's wrong?" he asked.

_It's terrible!_

"Calm down," he soothes as he searches for his keys.

_I'm going on a date!_

Ron stops, blinks, and then blinks again.

"What?"

_I'm going on a date!_

"Okay. I don't see how that's a bad thing."

_With my husband!_

"Okay, I'm a little surprised, but still don't see the problem."

_I don't know what to do!_

Ron doesn't bother holding back the small laugh, which causes Tim to whine over the phone.

_Ronnnnn!_

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh, calm down, calm down, deep breaths."

He hears the younger man take deep breathes and waits for few seconds. "Better?" he asks.

"Good. Now when is this date?"

_Um, he said he's next day off._

Which meant the coming weekend if Gibbs was lucky, which gave Ron the majority of the week to get Tim ready for this new adventure. "Alright" he replied, "what are you doing tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Sunday.

_I plan to do the laundry in the morning, after that nothing._

"Okay, I'll pick you up tomorrow around eleven. We'll get Jimmy and make a day out of it."

He would be bringing Emily as well, but he's sure the two of them wouldn't mind; besides it was about time the three of them met.

Ron hangs up, a smile on his face.

"Mama!" Emily called, "Daddy's stuck again!"

Ron looks and laughs at the sight of Tobias stuck in the tunnels.

"Shut-up and get me out of here!"

"Coming, dear!"

**_~.~_ **

Their date falls on a Saturday and Gibbs is as nervous as a rabbit that's wandered into a den full of wolves. He hasn't been on a date in a long time. Hell, he's still surprised that he'd been able to even  ** _ask_**  Tim out!

" _It's just dinner and a movie,"_ Gibbs reminded himself as he paced his living room while waiting for Tim to finish getting ready. " _It's nothing fancy. You stare down killers and crazy people for a living. You can do this!"._

A nervous clearing of the throat behind him had him stopping and looking.

"Um, I'm ready?" Tim said nervously, it actually came out more as a question than a statement and his eyes were looking everywhere but at Gibbs.

Tim was wearing black pants and a dark blue long-sleeved dress shirt, with the first two buttons unbuttoned and revealing skin.

Gibbs swallowed.

"Do I…look okay?" asked Tim.

"Yeah," Gibbs paused to clear his throat, "yeah, you look great."

It was such a simple outfit, and he'd seen men wear it every day at work or in the streets in various ways, but for some reason the more he looked at Tim, the drier his throat was becoming; and that warmth he's been feeling gets warmer.

Tim smiled, a small blush on his face.

"If you're ready, we can go."

The drive to the movie theater was filled with a nervous kind of energy, and Gibbs was embarrassed to find his palms getting sweaty, and was glad when they finally got to the theater. Luckily, the line is not long, and they get they're tickets. After leaving Tim to save their seats Gibbs goes back to the concession stand. He raises his brow at the prices, before ordering the largest popcorn they had along with two large drinks. After getting the food and shaking his head again at the total, he got back to his seat just as the previews started.

The movie was  _called X-Men: Days of Future Past_ , and Ducky, of all people recommended it. Apparently the M.E. and Jimmy had gone to see it, and the younger man had loved it, and Gibbs being more or less was clueless on what to do for the date, had grabbed onto the idea. Now as the next preview was starting, he isn't so sure.

" _Maybe I should have went with a romantic comedy"_ the man thought, making a face at the thought.

**_~.~_ **

"That was amazing!"

Gibbs gives a small smile at the excited young man sitting across from him in the restaurant. Tim had been talking nonstop about the movie, and Gibbs couldn't find it himself to stop him. He enjoyed the way Tim's green eyes got bright and big, how his cheeks flushed and how his hands were moved around while he spoke and his voice had gotten breathless in his excitement.

It was adorable.

Blinking in surprise at the thought, Gibbs cleared his throat and looks at the menu he had been ignoring.

"Glad you enjoyed the movie," Gibbs said.

Tim smiles, still on his high, which seems to have gotten higher when they got to the restaurant. It was a family restaurant according to his husband. There were pictures of places, things, and people on the walls and a bar that had a television that was showing a football game. The place had a nice crowd with many families and couples; a happy squeal has both Tim and his husband looking over at the table across from them. It was a family, a man and a woman, with a baby.

The father was making faces at the baby in the high chair, the baby was squealing and laughing, the mother's eyes were warm as she watched. Tim smiled at the scene.

"I'm going to hit the head," Gibbs said suddenly, startling Tim.

"Oh, okay."

Tim watches bewildered by both the sudden hardened tone and why his husband wants to hit a head, as the man gets up from the booth and heads to the back of the restaurant. Now alone and a bit unsettled, he looks down at his menu. They didn't have tacos but they had different kinds of burgers; perhaps he'll try one of those.

As he washes his hands, Gibbs inwardly curses himself. Despite being overly shy, Tim was very perceptive and has no doubt noticed his sudden mood change. He knew, when he picked this place that there would be families, he  ** _knew_** ; and yet it still pained him to see them.

 _I've probably upset him now._ The ex-Marine thought as he dried his hands under the dryer.  _So much for our first date._

Shaking away the last of the dampness, Gibbs takes a deep breath and leaves the bathroom, and he is nearly back at their booth when he stops short. Their waiter had finally come, but that's not what's made Gibbs stop.

Blue eyes take in the way the waiter leans towards Tim, how the man's eyes linger on Tim's lips as the man is responding to whatever the waiter has asked him. The waiter's expression was just short of leering.

Gibbs's eyes darken and narrow, and he silently makes his way to the booth, startling the waiter who finally realizes there is someone behind him. Gibbs gets into the young man's personal space and looms as only he can; inwardly pleased to see he's a head taller as he watches the waiter squirm and sweat.

"Um, c-can I-I h-help y-you s-s-sir?" the waiter stutters.

Gibbs raises an eyebrow and grins predatorily before sliding in next to Tim, deliberately pressing close and following that up with placing his arm around Tim's shoulder. Tim squeaks, face turning red, eyes wide.

"I'll have a beer," Gibbs orders eyes never leaving the now terrified waiter. "What do you want Tim?"

"A-A c-coke."

Taking his arm from around Tim, Gibbs glances at the menu. "And we'll start with the nachos," he says, placing the menu on the table and putting his left hand on it and lets the restaurant light hit his wedding ring.

The waiter, Marcus, according to his nametag, nods his head, then notices the matching ring on Tim's hand and with a stuttered reply goes to put in their order. When their drinks come, they're brought over by a waitress.

Gibbs stays in the same spot all throughout dinner much to Tim's confusion and surprise.


	14. Chapter 14

“So? How was the date?”

Tim blushes at the question and – in Jimmy’s case - eager expressions, and he glances around their usual diner before looking back at his friends.

“It was nice,” he says.

“That blush says otherwise,” Ron states with a teasing grin.

Tim’s blush gets darker, and after nibbling on his bottom lip for a few moments tells his friends everything; about the movie, the dinner and his husband’s surprising behavior at which Ron raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment. Instead he asks the younger man if he enjoyed himself.

“Yes,” Tim smiles brightly. “I did.  We're going on another date. To the Aquarium.”

Ron smiles, and watches as Jimmy draws Tim into a conversation about what an Aquarium was, listening for a few minutes before letting his mind wander. He was going to have to talk Gibbs, ask his side of the story about the date; get a look into how the man feels about Tim.

 _If possible._ Ron thought with an inner grimace and an oncoming headache. Gibbs, when all is said and done, is not a man known for expressing much outward emotion; especially towards people he didn’t know all to well. And even those he does _._

After lunch Ron takes them to a pet store that is partnered with an animal shelter. Jimmy and Tim coo’ed over the cute animals and giggled over Ron having a glaring contest with a rather grumpy fish. After an hour, Ron took them both home.

He goes home to clean, and being done with that heads off to Tobias’s favorite BBQ place and picks up dinner.

“I smell ribs,” said Tobias smiling as he comes into the kitchen behind Emily.

“Mama!”

“Hey sweetie.  How was school?”

“Fine. I got an A on my math test!”

“That’s great! Hey, hands off!”

Tobias yelped when his hand was smacked away from the delicious smelling brown bags on the counter and Emily giggled.

“I haven’t finished the vegetables yet,” Ron retorted.

“Can’t I have at least one?” Tobias whined, shaking his stinging hand.

“No, now go change into something less Federal Agenty, and you, Emily, go start on your homework.”

“Okay.”

Tobias watches his daughter leave before turning his attention to Ron, who had gone over to the fridge and was taking out Chocolate Chip cookie dough, a treat for Emily for getting an A on her math test.

“You know, I finished all _my_ paperwork today,” said the older FBI agent. “Does that mean I get a cookie too?”

“That depends," said Ron eyeing him. "What did you have for lunch today?”

“Chicken wrap with cranberry juice.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

**_~.~_ **

Tim loved the Aquarium. The young man hurried over to every exhibit leaving an amused Gibbs trailing behind, watching Tim all but pressing his face against the glass and taking pictures with his phone. For lunch they ate at a pirate themed restaurant. Gibbs had to explain that the fish on the menu were not the fish in the exhibits. After lunch they headed over to a Whale and Seal show and ended up sitting in the Splash Zone.  When Gibbs told his husband what it was; Tim’s eyes lit up and the look on his face was one the man couldn’t say no too.

It was a decision the Agent was seriously starting to regret.

Due to the warm weather, Tim had worn a white shirt; a white shirt that was now soaked and doing things to Gibbs; actually the sight of his wet husband was doing things to him.  Period.

“The show was amazing!” exclaimed his soaking wet husband. “The seals were so smart, and the whales were so big!"

Equally wet, Gibbs smiled at the chattering young man as they walk around looking at the outdoor exhibits and stalls and letting the sun dry them off. When they were dry enough, they headed over to the penguin building.

“Aww,” Tim cooed over the baby penguins. “How cute!”

Gibbs looked around while his husband was occupied.  There were clusters of people scattered around the exhibit, mostly parents with their children. One couple catches his attention: they’re both males and married judging from the matching rings. They look to be in their late twenties and one of them is pregnant. Gibbs’s eyes linger on the pregnant man.

“Gibbs?”

Gibbs jumps and looks over his shoulder at his spouse. Tim follows Gibbs' gaze to the couple that had caught the older man’s attention, and the Bearer’s expression goes alarmingly blank for a moment before looking back at Gibbs.

“Ready?” Gibbs asked after a moment of awkward silence.  

Tim nods and the two leave the building. They go on to the next exhibit, though Tim is not as enthusiastic as before Gibbs notes. They head to the exit around four and when they get to the gate Gibbs asks Tim to wait and heads over to the souvenir store. The ex-marine looks over the items and when he get to the stuffed toys his eyes skim the displays and land on the medium size gray baby penguins. He grabs the fluffiest one and heads to the register. After paying, he heads back to Tim.  The young man is leaning against the wall on his phone texting and looks up when he approaches.

“For you,” Gibbs says holding out the toy.

Tim stares at the toy. “It’s so cute!” Tim squeals, blushing at his sudden outburst and Gibbs’s chuckle.

“Glad you like it,” Gibbs says, smiling.

Tim stares at his smiling husband, before slowly smiling back and taking the stuff toy.

“Thank you,” Tim said, holding the penguin close.

Pleased, Gibbs nodded before leading Tim out, a hand placed firmly on the Bearer’s lower back. 

When they arrive home, Tim places his new gift on the bed before going back down to warm up last night’s dinner.  When he enters the kitchen his husband already doing so. Tim fidgets in the doorway; this was the third time his husband had done this, and each time when the Bearer tried to tell his husband that he didn’t have to. Gibbs either ignored him or told him it was fine.

“Tim.”

“Oh! Yes?” answered Tim startled.

“Mind fixing the drinks?” Gibbs asked as he took out the first plate from the microwave and placed the second one in.

“Alright.”

Tim goes into the fridge, and takes out the Cran-Applejuice. By the time he placed the glasses on the table, the food had been warmed up. After dinner, Gibbs took the plates into the sink, and washes them and ignoring Tim’s protests. Gibbs asks Tim to sit on the couch in the living room.  Finally done with the dishes, Gibbs grabs two forks and goes down into the basement.  He heads to the mini fridge where he keeps his beer for all-nighters. Inside is the surprise dessert he had purchased earlier during the day when Tim had been busy with chores. Taking out the two small plates, Gibbs makes his way back upstairs.

Meanwhile, Tim takes out his phone and sends Ron and Jimmy a text, eager to share his newest information about his husband.

**_Gibbs smiled at me!_ **

He gets a response, surprised at the quickness; he reads Ron’s text.

**_Gibbs can do that!?_ **

Laughing, Tim sends a reply just as his husband sits down next to him.

“Here you go.”

Tim stares at the item on the plate. It was triangular in shape, with a brown crust on the bottom, a creamy colored looking filling, topped off with two big strawberries covered in red syrupy and swirl of whipped cream.

“It’s called Cheesecake. Thought it’d been nice to have while we watch a movie,” Gibbs said. “And it’s not really made of cheese, at least I don’t think it is.”

Tim takes the plate and fork, and while his husband sets up the movie, he uses the fork to break off a piece and eats it.

 _This is delicious!_  Tim swallowed and took another bite.

Over by the TV, Gibbs raised brow at the noises coming from the couch, an amused smile on his face. Pleased that he made a good choice, Gibbs puts the DVD in (Abby had brought him the new flat screen TV and while the DVD player was from Ducky both were birthday gifts, Gibbs suspects conspiracy) and goes back to the couch. He settles down next to his husband, just as the previews start playing.

“What are we watching?” Tim asked after swallowing.

“ _Iron Man,_ ” Gibbs answered as he picked up his own plate.

“Oh, I've heard of that! Jimmy said there are three of them.”

Gibbs nodded and took a bite.

Two hours later, cakes had been eaten and the plates had been placed on the coffee table. The credits had long since rolled by on the TV. On the couch, Gibbs woke up with a start. He blinked sleepily at the TV, and it takes him a moment to notice the warm weight on his chest. He looks and finds that at some point both he and Tim had moved from sitting comfortably to lying fully on the couch. Gibbs was on his back, chest acting as a pillow for Tim. The Agent notes how their legs are tangled together and how one of his arms is slung over the Bearer.

Gibbs feels his cheeks warming and that warmth he’s been feeling around Tim lately keeps getting warmer, almost hot. Clearing his throat nervously, Gibbs sets about waking Tim.

“Hey, Tim, wake up” he said, shaking the younger man.

Tim mumbles, but doesn’t wake instead he nuzzles into the man’s chest, sighing happily as he settles back down. Gibbs tries again, ignoring the part of him that is finding the other adorable. This time Tim wakes up, blinking sleepily up at the man.

“Gibbs?” Tim yawned, lifting his head.

“Hey,” Gibbs said softly, “movies over, time to get to bed.”

Tim yawns again before settling his head back down on the man’s chest, much to Gibbs’ surprise.

“Don’t wanna,” Tim murmured sleepily, “nice here.”

Tim nuzzles the man’s chest again, “warm” the younger man sighs happily as he settles down and goes back to sleep.

 _“Okay then._ Gibbs' brain reboots from its shocked state.

Gibbs, after a moment of hesitation, settles his arm on Tim’s back and mentally prepares himself for the aches that’ll greet him in the morning.

“...warm,” Gibbs murmured as his eyes slowly closed.


	15. Chapter 15

Gibbs wakes up with a sore neck and alone, a quick sniff told him breakfast was in progress.  He sits up groaning and rubs the back of his neck. Looking around, he sees the plates and forks had been cleared up and there's a blanket on the floor. Gibbs figures Tim must have put it over him when the young man had woken up.  He stands up and stretches out the kinks in his back before picking up and folding the blanket. After placing the blanket on the couch, he heads to the kitchen.

Tim is at the stove cooking bacon with his back to Gibbs, who leans against the doorframe and studies his husband.

Last night had been some of the best sleep he’s ever had; in fact, ever since Tim had entered into his life he’s had a lot of bests. He wants more.  Much more.

He wants Tim.

Up till now, he’s only wanted to make the younger man comfortable in the house and around him and the two dates were his own way of making sure of that. Granted the emotions that came with those dates threw him for a loop, but now he welcomes them and understands them for what they are. The problem now becomes how go about this, still leaning against the doorframe Gibbs mulls over the issue. It's not until Tim places the bacon on a plate with paper towels to soak up some of the grease that he comes to a decision.

He was a doer. A man of action -- according to Abby and Ducky. Known for sometimes diving head first into a situation and never looking back.

So...he leaps.

Gibbs moves towards the younger man, wraps his arms around the man’s waist and rests his chin on Tim’s shoulder.

Tim goes still.

“Morning,” Gibbs says.

“M-Morning,” Tim stuttered in surprise, going red all of the way to the tip of his ears.

Gibbs doesn’t bother denying it's adorable; and it’s a wonderful feeling he has for it, chuckling softly he lets go, and backs away. Going over to the coffee pot where the coffee was hot and ready, he opens the cupboard above and takes out a mug, pauses for a moment, then takes out another one. After pouring the coffee he places the two mugs on the table. Tim has finished up the scrambled eggs and adds the bacon and buttered toast to the plate. Picking up the plates, he heads to the table and looks curiously at the mug of coffee instead of the usual glass of orange juice for him; but says nothing and settles down to eat.

Gibbs had finished all of his eggs when Tim finally decides to take of sip of his coffee. The ex-marine watches him, lips twitching at the disgusted look on the young man’s face. Without a word he gets up and gets the sugar and milk and puts them down in front of Tim.

“These may help,” he says.

Tim gives a little smile and sets about adding sugar and some milk.  At the pleased sound the young man makes when he takes a second sip, Gibbs makes a mental note to get creamer. Probably French Vanilla.  Gibbs has a feeling that Tim, when it comes to coffee, would rather have something beyond basic milk and sugar or regular creamer. 

“Erm...is everything all right?” Tim asked after a few moments of silent eating.

Gibbs tilted his head and looks at Tim curiously and the younger squirms slightly under the intense gaze. “Um...I mean...well...I...”

Gibbs watched with barely concealed fondness as Tim trails off, the tip of his ears going a slight pink, and watches as the young man squirms a bit more then calls up the resolve that the Agent has often seen through their time together.

“Y-You’ve been acting strangely,” Tim finally says.

“I supposed I have been,” Gibbs agreed, “but that’s because I’ve realized something this morning, something good.”

“Oh?” Tim hesitated for a moment. “What was that?”

Gibbs smiles.  It’s a bit mischievous, but all together genuine.  “I’ll tell you later.”

He wants to tell Tim what he's just figured out, he truly does.  He can and knows his newly found feelings would be returned. However, it wouldn’t be genuine. Tim needs time to absorb everything, to understand not only the world but also himself, and his place in it.

It's time Gibbs is willing to give.

**_~.~_ **

Ron and Jimmy come by an hour after his husband goes to work.  Ron has a book bag of DVDs and snacks slung over his shoulder.

“I would have brought the _Star Trek_ series, but decided to do that on another day,” Ron said as he opens the bag and lets the two have a look. “Figured today would be a good day for some BCC series.  I have both the old and new ones.”

“No _Doctor Who,_ ” Jimmy observes peering into the bag.

Ron's not surprised that Jimmy knows about the famous Time Lord, considering Dr. Mallard’s hours and that his mother-in-law spent most of her time away at the center then home, Jimmy probably had nothing to do but clean and watch television.  Nor is he surprised that Jimmy has taken a liking to _Doctor Who_ , especially if the young man started with the Tenth Doctor.

“No _Doctor Who,_ ” Ron confirmed. “Maybe next time.”

Although he said old, Ron really meant early the early 2000s series, the much older ones were still back at the house. Although he wouldn’t admit it, Tobias had a soft spot for the early series and guarded those fiercely.  Ron was not in the mood to deal with the man should he learn that Ron had taken them.  They settled instead on _Robin Hood_ and if they had time for it _Merlin_.

As the first episode started, and Ron saw his friends become hooked on the show, Ron wondered if he should warn them about the series ending, especially since it look like Jimmy might be developing a crush on Guy (And who wouldn’t? Richard Armitage’s voice alone was dangerous, and combined with the man’s handsome features and you have big trouble…or orgasms).

 _“Let’s see how far we get first,”_ Ron thought.

Beside him, Tim munched on his popcorn as he watched the show. Or at least tried too, his mind kept going back to what his husband had said this morning, how affectionate he had been. Not to say he didn’t like it.  Yes it surprised him, and while he couldn’t do much but stutter and blush; Tim liked it. Liked the feeling off the man’s arms around his waist, and was beginning not to mind the man helping to set up the table for meals. In fact the attentiveness was actually kind of nice the more he thought about it.

“What are you thinking about?” Ron asked quietly as not to disturb Jimmy.

“My husband.”

“Did he smile again?”

Tim giggled slightly. “He did, but that’s not what has me thinking.”

Ron waits for more, when he doesn’t get any; he shrugs and goes back to the show. Whatever had happened obviously wasn’t bad, so he wasn’t going to push. They make it through all three seasons of _Robin Hood_.  After a quick break to order pizza, Ron puts in Merlin (after Jimmy didn’t take Guy’s fate well Ron makes Jimmy and Tim Google Merlin and Arthurian legend before starting up the DVDs). When the pizza arrives, Jimmy pauses the show while Ron goes and pays with Tim getting up to help when the man calls for it.

“Don’t tell Tobias,” Ron said, coming back into the living room with two boxes of pizza and Tim behind him with a smaller box and a two liter of _Pepsi_ under his arm.

Tim and Jimmy grin.  They’ve never met the man, the FBI Agent’s hours just as long as their husbands, but from what Ron has told them; the FBI Agent’s diet was a long and relentless battle. If Fornell knew Ron was secretly eating food obviously **_not_** part of the diet plan, there will be trouble.

“Our lips are sealed!” Jimmy grinned.

Ron sat the boxes down on the coffee table and flipped them open. Since this was the first time for the two young Bearers, he had ordered half and half on both. One was a regular pan crust with one half pepperoni and the other plain cheese. The other one was a stuffed crust, one half was a chicken, onion and spinach with feta cheese and the other a meat lovers. There was also garlic bread.  After bringing in plates and glasses filled with ice, both Jimmy and Timmy eagerly loaded up their plates with one slice each and stick of garlic bread before pressing play.

Around eight, the pizza and garlic bread had long since been devoured and had been replaced with Chinese that was also being devoured, another two liter _Pepsi_ had joined the first, and the last season of _Merlin_ was doing things to their emotions.

On the phone, Gibbs listened to all this with a mixture of bewilderment, amusement, and astonishment. He merely called to let Tim know he was going to be working late. After hearing some noise in the background, had asked if there was company over and was treated to the discovery that his husband had bigger appetite then he thought and was becoming a BBC junkie.

 _“He's having fun_ ” the Agent realized, he also realized he's probably going to have to invest in a better cable package.

_Sounds like you're having a good time._

On the other end of the phone, Tim smiled, relieved that the man wasn’t upset about him having his friends over. Granted this wasn’t the first time people had been at the house, but they had been Gibbs’s co-workers and Ron had only come over to take him somewhere

_Is Merlin going to be the last one? Or are you going to watch something else?_

“Umm, Ron said he's off tomorrow and since Emily was going to be with her mother, he could stay late. So, I guess we’ll be watching something else.”

_All right, and if it gets too late, he and Jimmy can stay the night._

“Oh…" That was surprising.

_Tim?_

“Is that really okay?”

_Of course. Driving so late can be dangerous._

“Oh...okay...but I’m not sure where they can—”

_If it’s not a problem, they can share you bed and you can take mine._

Tim squeaked loudly at that comment, getting curious looks from Jimmy and Ron who were waiting for him to finish up his call so they could get back to the show.

_I doubt I’ll be home tonight, and if I do, I’ll just take the couch._

Was his husband trying to reassure him? Why? He was surprised at the suggestion but not against it. They were married, so wasn’t it normal for them to sleep in the same bed? Granted he hadn't so far and he never questioned it. He just figured the man would tell him when he could move into the master bedroom.

“Okay.” It was all Tim could say.

_You all right?_

His husband’s voice had gone soft. It made Tim feel warm and a bit of something else.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

They talk for a few more minutes before Tim hangs up and walk back over to the couch.

“Everything okay?” Ron asked.

Tim nodded. “Gibbs said if it gets too late, you two could stay the night.”

Ron blinks at the offer before he grins and pumps his fist in the air. “All right! Sleepover!”

“….What’s a sleepover?”

**_~.~_ **

Agent Andrew Woods is awoken at three in the morning by his persistent ring tone.  Grumbling and cursing, the man blindly searches his nightstand for it.

“What?” he grumbled when he answered.

“We have a problem.”

It takes Andrew a moment to realize it was his boss on the other end. “What’s wrong Chief?” he yawned, eyes drooping.

“There was a mix up with the DC candidates.”

Andrew yawned again. “What kind of mix-up?” he asked, not at all worried.

Most of the mix-ups involved wrong gender, nothing a quick switch couldn’t fix.

“Get on you laptop and log into the Ark database. Type in Timothy McGee and James Palmer. Now, Andrew.”

“All right, all right. I'm up. I'm up.” 

Still half-asleep, the man stumbles out of bed, not at all listening to his boss rant and rave about how this could have happened. He goes to his kitchen table were his work laptop was, turns it on, waits for it to boot up before logging into the Ark database and looking up the two names. Thirty minutes later, he's still staring wide eyed at the screen

 “…Crap.”


	16. Chapter 16

“How did this happen?”

Several heads looked nervously up from their screens to the door, standing in the doorway was a woman, her heels made her tall, her suit that covered her chocolate brown skin was without wrinkle or lint. Her black hair was long with curls at the end and her dark eyes looked at them as she waited for an answer. Her name was Tanta Campbell, also known around the Ark as Mother.

Gulping, Andrew moved away from the computer and followed his boss to the woman.

“Ms. Campbell” said his boss, “we weren’t expecting you for another hour”

“Traffic was good” said Ms. Campbell, “now tell me, how did this happen?”

“We’re still not sure” Andrew answered before leading her over to one of the computers, “what we know so far is that our system was hacked, though we don’t know if it was from inside. Whoever it was, covered their tracks very well”

“Well then uncover them, I want to know who got into our system”

“Yes Ma’am” Andrew nodded.

“Now, what are we doing about the children?”

“Nothing” said Andrew’s boss.

Tanta’s eyes narrowed, “And why is that?”

“Because there hasn’t been any complaints from the Candidates” Andrew said for his now very nervous boss, “nor has then been any reports of abuse, we have no cause to take the two away”

“The two candidates, Jethro Leroy Gibbs and Dr. Mallard, from the DC area, they were one of the ones giving us trouble before, correct?”

Andrew nodded.

“Then why have there been no complaints?”

“It could be they are content with their new status, it wouldn’t be the first time”

Tanta nodded, it has happened before, clients who have complained, refused and been forced into marriage with one of their children often became content and even happy. Yes, there some who weren’t and even abused their children, those were dealt with.

“Those children are of high status, have been promised to two very important clients, we need to get them back.”

Andrew raised a brow, but said nothing, instead he and his Boss nodded.

“Discreetly, of course”

“Yes ma’am”

**_~.~_ **

Ron had left some of the DVDS for Tim, and after his husband shyly asked if he wanted to watch a few episodes with him, Gibbs had gone out and brought a lot of popcorn that very same day. Now, it was eight o’clock on a Friday evening, Gibbs was sitting next to his husband, munching on the bowl of popcorn that was pressed against him(having moved it when Tim said he didn’t want anymore) and finally understanding what binging was and why people loved to do it. As he made a reminder to ask Abby about _Hulu_ and _Netflix,_ he suddenly felt a warm weight on his lap. He looked down and found Tim resting his head there, he stared not sure of what to do with such a bold thing. The more he stared, the more he realized that Tim was very much nervous, obviously expecting well…something and not a good something. Frowning slightly, and wanting to correct that, Gibbs; after a brief hesitation, starting running his fingers through hair, Tim’s breath hitched before he let out a soft sigh of pleasure.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Gibbs asked.

“Can we go to the park?” Tim asked after thinking it over.

“Sounds like a plan to me”

He glanced down and found Tim smiling.

**_~.~_ **

It takes the Ark three days to realize that they were not going to figure out who had hacked them, Mother had not been pleased, and the Tech Unit was told to strengthen their firewalls so it wouldn’t happen again. Afterwards, she focused her attention on the other problem.  A background check showed that Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a well-known technophobe; he probably didn’t even know what hacking **_was_** let alone know how to do it. And while Donald “Ducky” Mallard knew his way around a computer better than his co-worker, it wasn’t enough knowledge to get inside the Ark’s system at least not undetected as it were.  So that meant that they couldn’t have done this, or even know about it.

 

 _“It was an inside job”_ Tanta thought as she leaned back against her chair with an thoughtful hum, _“but who?”_

It wasn’t any of the guards; she knew none of them could have done it, The HR department made sure of that, and it obviously wasn’t any of the children. So that just left the Tech Unit, which made sense as they had the knowledge and equipment. But she couldn’t rule out the rest of the staff either.

“Ms. Tanta”

Tanta leaned forward and pressed a button on her phone and spoke, “Yes Maria?”

“You’re three ‘o’clock is on line one”

Tanta sighed softly, “Thank you Maria” she said before she picked up the receiver, pressed a button, and spent two hours explaining to her client why the marriage date had to be pushed back.

**_~.~_ **

“They’re so cute!”

Gibbs turned away from the rabbits hopping around in the glass pen to Tim who was leaning over another pen. The man came over and looked to see what had his spouse cooing.

It was puppies.

 White fluffy bouncing puppies, all eagerly standing up on hind legs trying to get to Tim.

Gibbs chuckled and reached down to pet heads, he gets licks and nips in return. Tim followed his example, giggling and smiling at the attention he got from the little fur balls.

“Did you ever have a dog?” Tim asked, looking as though he was moments away from picking up a puppy and cuddling with it.

The imagine did things to Gibbs.

“One” Gibbs said, “a mastiff, big dog, good with children. Drooled a lot, he was my mother’s baby”

Gibbs paused; he’s never told anyone about the part with his mother, not even with any of his ex-wives. And yet, here he was, telling Tim so easily and without the usual pain.

“Gibbs?”

Gibbs blinked then looked at the other who was looking at him with worry in eyes for having stayed silent for so long.  The man smiled, and after a thought, entwined their fingers together, Tim looked down at their limbs in surprise.

“I’m okay” Gibbs said, “ready to go? There’s a place I want to take you to for lunch”

Tim smiled and nodded.

**_~.~_ **

The bed was a king, so it was pretty big. The sheets and comforters had been cleaned, then tossed into the dryer, so they most definitely smelled nice; and felt soft because of the softener Tim had used on them worked very well. The pillows were perfectly plumped and the sheets and comforter were pulled back, everything looked very much inviting.

Tim was terrified.

“You don’t have to”

Tim jumped and turned around to look at his husband standing in the doorway, having returned from the kitchen. The man’s expression was kind and patient as he waited for an answer.

“I-I-I-” Tim stuttered.

Gibbs moved closer until he was standing in front of the man, “I don’t expect anything Tim” he said, making sure his own eyes locked with Tim’s. “I won’t be mad at all if you decide to go back to your room, if that’s what makes you comfortable”

The funny thing about all this is that it’s was Tim’s idea to share the bed tonight. After days of thinking it over, and more importantly the **_why_**. Tim had approached his husband about it after the man had come home from work. Gibbs for his part had been surprised before asking if the other man was sure about it, not even asking why. Tim had nodded and now they were here.

“N-No” Tim squeaked, he cleared his throat and tried again, “No, I want to do this, I’m just a little nervous”

He suppose some would think his behavior odd, his husband certainly should  think so, considering how Tim had ended up sleeping on top of the man that one time, not to mention he had shared a bed with Gibbs once before. But this time was different, this time, Tim had consciously decided to do this.

He had decided to do this, on his own.

Tim got in the bed.

 Gibbs followed some seconds later, and the awkward silence that followed could rival the Atlantic Ocean.

 _“This was not a good idea”_ Tim thought as he stared up at the ceiling.

And just as he was contemplating getting out the bed and to his room, Gibbs suddenly rolled over. “Lay on your side, facing the wall” he said, his voice was very open, and clear that Tim could not decide not to.

Tim rolled, and is very much startled at the sudden warmth on his back and the arm over his waist.

“Okay?” Gibbs asked behind him.

The surprise leaving him, Tim thought about the position, and found that it was nice. Comforting even.

“It’s okay” Tim said.

Gibbs made a please noise before settling down more and going to sleep, Tim laid there, before after a long moment; laid his arm on top of Gibbs’s and went to sleep.

**_~.~_ **

Sharing the bed, quickly became a thing. Which was both a blessing and a curse for Gibbs, after all he was still human, and Tim was a very attractive man. But he behaved himself and was rewarded with cuddles, and best of all, Tim’s warm smiles.

So of course, that’s when the other shoe dropped.

They were coming back from a movie and lunch, Gibbs pulled up in the driveway and found a black car waiting, his eyes narrowed when two men in suits came out of it the moment he put his car into park.

“Wait in the car” Gibbs said to Tim who was looking very nervous, “when I get out, lock the door. In the glove department, is a gun and a knife. Use the knife”

Paling slightly, Tim nodded and watched his husband get out the car, he looked away for a moment to lock the door and get the knife out. He unsheathed it and placed it on his lap before looking up and at his husband.

“Can I help you?” Gibbs asked as he walked up to the men, mentally he was making a note of teaching Tim how to shot a gun should this be nothing.

“Mr. Gibbs, we are Agents from the Ark” said one of the man as he and his partner showed Gibbs their badges, “we have orders to retrieve Timothy McGee and take him back to the Ark”

“Why?” asked Gibbs, a cold kind of anger settling in his stomach along with something he knew was called fear.

“There has been a mix-up in our system” said the Agent.

“A mix-up?”

The Agent nodded, while the other stared at Tim in the car, Gibbs didn’t like it, “We are trying to rectify it, but we need McGee to come with us to the Ark”

Gibbs is quiet, something was not right about this, he’s never heard of the Ark taking back the spouses, and if they did; obviously it had been done quietly or covered up. “Let’s go then” the man then said.

“Sorry sir” said the Agent’s partner, Gibbs noticed he had a British accent, “but it’s just Timothy”

Yep, something was definitely wrong; Gibbs weighed the pros and cons about resisting and denying the request. The cons outweighed the pros, especially if he ended up arrested, or worse ended up disappearing. Inwardly sighing and pushing back his natural reaction, he nodded.

“I’ll get him” he said, glaring at the British Agent when he started to move forward.

The British Agent stared at him, before nodding and he and his partner waited. Gibbs waited a beat to make sure they would stay before going back to his car.

“Unlock the door Tim” he said once he got to the passenger side, opening the door when Tim does so. “Hey” he smiled.

“What’s going on?” Tim asked glancing at the Agents who were waiting.

“Apparently something happened to the Ark’s system” Gibbs answered honestly, “some kind of mix-up, they’re trying to fix it, but they need you to go with them back to the Ark”

“Oh” Tim said softly,”…are you coming with me?”

“No” Gibbs sighed, “it’s just you”

Tim looked down at his lap, expression unreadable, not liking it. Gibbs cupped and lifted the young man’s face.

“Hey” he said voice soft again, “it’s going to be okay, they’ll bring you back. And if they don’t, I’ll come for you. Okay”

Tim said nothing, eyes looking down.

“Hey!” Gibbs then said sharply, startling and making green eyes look at his own blue ones, “I’ll come for you, I promise. And I keep those”

Something flickered in those eyes, then Tim nodded “Okay” he said, with a small smile.

“Okay” Gibbs said back, then slide one of his hands into Tim’s.

Tim’s gripped back tightly, together they moved away from the car and over to the waiting Agents.

“Timothy” said the British Agent when the two stood before him and his partner.

“Hello” Tim said softly

“Ready?”

“Erm, can I—I mean—”

Gibbs, who was expecting the Agents to snap at the young man, they gave off a vibe that made the NCIS Agent twitch. Was surprised when they waited patiently for Tim to get out what he wanted to say.

“Can I bring some things with me!?” Tim finally blurted out.

Both Agents seemed surprised by it, and didn t look like they knew what to say, finally after looking at each other. The British Agent’s partner nodded and Tim quickly hurried into the house, Gibbs waited, deciding to play bodyguard. Tim doesn’t take long and emerged from the house with a backpack and the penguin Gibbs had gotten.

“I’m ready” Tim then said to the Agents.

“Very well, Mr. Gibbs, thank you for your cooperation” the British Agent said as his other partner opened their car door and ushered Tim into the backseat.  Gibbs watched as the door closed and still watched as the car drove away.


	17. Chapter 17

Gibbs isn’t sure how long he stood there just staring, and it didn’t matter when suddenly his cellphone went off. Without looking at the screen, he answered it.

“Gibbs.”

Why did his voice sound off? Was it because his throat was suddenly so tight?

“Jethro!”

It was Ducky.

“Jethro, they took him. They took Jimmy!”

“I’ll be right there Ducky.”

He’s suddenly moving, feet going into the house as he hung up, and called several numbers. One hand grabbing what he needed, as he talked and told them to meet him at Ducky’s. Then he’s in his car, and speeding down the road.

**_~.~_ **

“Welcome back Timothy.”

Tim gave a tentative smile at Mother, the warm hand of one of the Agents on his back a small comfort.

“Do not worry my child, we’ll clear everything up.” Mother smiled, the smile growing slightly when Tim nodded. “Please escort him to his room,” she then said to the Agents.

“Yes Mother,” the two said.

With the hand still on his back, Tim is lead down the hall, green eyes glanced around. The halls were familiar, yet Tim felt as though he was seeing them for the first time.

“Here we are,” announced one of the Agents, once they were at the door.

One Agent pulled out a key card, and slide into the slot, the lock beeped. The door was opened, and the two stepped aside for Tim to go in. The Carrier does, and is surprised to see everything was still in order, usually when a Carrier was married, the room is redone for the next child. Staring at everything, Tim missed the whispered conversation between the two Agents, so when he turned around he was surprised to see one, instead of two.

“Alright?” Asked the Agent as he closed the door behind him.

“I’m fine,” Tim answered, clenching his penguin close to him.

“The fact that you still think you can lie to me after all these years, makes me question both your stubbornness, and intelligence.”

Despite the situation, Tim giggled. The Agent, upon hearing it, smile softly. “Alright, I’ll be back later with dinner, and if you’re up to it. We can talk, how does that sound?”

“I would like that.”

Nodding, the Agent left.

Once the door closed, Tim turned back to his room, he made a beeline for his bed. After toeing off his shoes, placing his bag on the floor, settled onto the mattress, he placed his penguin next to him.

……He was back.

Teeth bit at bottom lip, green eyes stung with gathering tears, and breath hitched.

**_~.~_ **

The Agent came back with a tray of food, upon seeing Tim curled up on the bed, he placed the tray on the neatly decorated desk before going over. He frowned when he saw obvious signs of crying, gently he shook the young man awake. Green eyes fluttered open, there is a brief moment of confusion, before disappointment. Ignoring the expression, the Agent softly told Tim that he brought dinner. Smirking at the face Tim made, Agent told him that it was better than nothing, and he’d probably feel a little better with a full stomach.

Still making a face, Tim got up, and over to the desk. He sat down, and picked at the food for a few moments before he started eating.

“Jimmy arrived about two hours after you,” the Agent said after a moment of silence, the man having settled down on Tim’s bed.

Tim looked at him, the Agent took notice of the lack of surprise on his face, before he turned his attention to the penguin.

“Oh,” Tim said after swallowing.

The Agent hummed as he poked the toy.

“…..What’s going to happen now?” Tim asked after a long silence.

“Apparently, something went wrong with Ark’s system. And they’re trying to fix it. So until then, you and Jimmy will stay here.”

“What kind of problem?”

“According to rumor, someone hacked into the system.”

“That’s…bad.”

“That it is,” the Agent agreed, eyes twinkling with something Tim couldn’t name, and made his nervous.

Which was strange, the Agent, Gavin O’Ryan. Had been with Tim, ever since the Carrier had been five. The Agent (actually, Gavin was part of the guards, a different and unique position in the Ark. Tim didn’t know more than the fact that the guards were always near the Carriers. Keeping them under a watchful eye, though they weren’t above playing with them, should a Carrier ask.), was like Ron in a way. And Tim never had a reason to be nervous of the man.

Maybe his time outside had changed him more than he thought.

“So, how was it? Outside?” Gavin changed the subject.

With a smile that was more genuine, Tim told him about his time Outside.

**_~.~_ **

“They said there was a mix-up in the system,” Ducky explained, “but wouldn’t explain further, no matter how many times I asked.”

“They said the same thing to me,” Gibbs said.

“What kind of mix-up would require them to take away Tim, and Jimmy?” Kate asked.

After Gibbs call the three of them, Kate, Tony, and Ziva had arrived in record time to Ducky’s. Gibbs had put off calling Abby until he could come up with….something.

“A not good one, no doubt,” Tony spoke up, expression unhappy, out of the three of them, Tony was the closest to Tim.

“Has anything like this happened before?” Ziva asked.

“The only time they take away a Carrier from their Spouse is if there are signs of abuse, or any kind of danger towards them.”

Everyone stared at Gibbs.

“They gave me a pamphlet,” the man shrugged.

“Well, we know that wasn’t the reason why,” Ziva said with absolute certainty, Gibbs was many things, but an abuser wasn’t one of them. And Ducky was nothing but gentle. “And besides, I think if that was the case, they would have had you, and Ducky arrested.”

Kate nodded in agreement.

“Then the answer lies with whatever the mix-up was.” Ducky said with a familiar expression, Gibbs was already on his phone, calling Abby, and Ron.

“We’re hacking into the Art system,” Tony said gleefully, “aren’t we?”

“Why Anthony, why would you even think of such a thing?”

They were hacking into the Art system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One guess who Gavin O’Ryan is.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcomed!


End file.
